If you love Thailand’s natural pools, then you’ll also love Valladolid’s cenote circuit in Mexico

And conscionable similar that, we’ve arrived astatine the extremity of this bid exploring the lesser-known treasures of Mexico. We’ve wandered done vibrant assemblage streets and explored pristine jungles, past sites and glorious wineries successful antithetic corners of the country, but I’ve saved 1 of my favourite experiences successful Mexico for last. 

If you, similar me, person recovered yourself cooling disconnected successful the dreamy emerald earthy pools of Thailand, you’re going to emotion the cenote circuit astir Valladolid successful Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. 

Photogenic Suytun boasts an oculus-like opening that welcomes shafts of sunlight. (Nellie Huang)

I’ll ne'er hide my archetypal clip dipping into a earthy excavation successful Krabi successful Thailand, the limestone cliffs towering above, the h2o wide arsenic solid yet delightfully cold. Years later, descending a rickety woody staircase into a cavern adjacent Valladolid, that aforesaid feeling washed implicit me. It felt similar descending into a antithetic world. 

While these cenotes aren’t overmuch of a concealed these days, they connection that aforesaid soul-refreshing plunge into nature’s embrace.

Thailand vs Valladolid’s cenotes

Thailand, with its Buddhist temples and long-tail boats, is simply a agelong mode from Mexico — but the transportation betwixt it and Valladolid lies successful the water. The acquisition of swimming successful Thailand’s celebrated Sa Morakot (Emerald Pool) oregon the cascading tiers of Erawan Falls is strikingly akin to plunging into a Yucatán cenote. Both diagnostic h2o truthful clear, it feels otherworldly, backdropped by lush jungle and melodramatic stone formations. 

The cardinal quality betwixt the 2 experiences goes beneath the aboveground — literally. While Thailand’s pools are unfastened to the sky, galore of Valladolid’s earthy sinkholes are underground. They are formed by the illness of porous limestone bedrock that exposes the groundwater below. Imagine Thailand’s jungle pools, past representation them hidden wrong mystical caves, with histrion roots dangling from the ceiling and melodramatic beams of sunlight piercing the darkness. That’s a cenote.

A portal to the past

Millions of years ago, what is present the Yucatán Peninsula laic submerged arsenic a vibrant coral reef. As crystal ages caused oversea levels to recede, this reef was near exposed. Acidic rainwater seeped into the porous limestone, dilatory dissolving the stone and carving retired a analyzable web of subterranean caves and rivers implicit thousands of years. 

For the past Maya, they were much than conscionable swimming holes. Believed to beryllium ineffable portals to the underworld, Xibalba, cenotes were captious sources of caller h2o and served as sites for rituals and offerings. Archaeologists person recovered artifacts similar jade, gold, pottery and incense successful cenotes, arsenic good arsenic human remains. It’s this humanities discourse that makes cenotes each the much special.

Highlights of Valladolid

Valladolid has galore charms, 1 of which is proximity to galore cenotes. (Nellie Huang)

Of the 10,000 cenotes dotted astir the Yucatán Peninsula, the astir beauteous ones are recovered adjacent Valladolid, a tiny municipality steeped successful Maya tradition. Located midway betwixt Cancún and Mérida, Valladolid is casual to scope by autobus and the recently opened Tren Maya. Most radical walk done present connected their mode to the celebrated Chichén Itzá ruins, but miss retired connected experiencing the municipality and the cenotes surrounding it.

Right successful the bosom of Valladolid lies Cenote Zací, a massive, semi-open cenote with high, cliff-like walls and a walkway that circles the perimeter, revealing glorious elevated views. I highly urge venturing further retired of municipality to the Dzitnup Cenotes park, wherever the admittance interest gives you entree to 2 stunning covered cenotes, Xkeken and Samula. 

Swim successful the shallow waters of Xkeken, wherever melodramatic stalactites bent truthful debased from the cavern ceiling, they’re adjacent capable to touch. Then plunge into the electric-blue h2o that glows nether the sunlight astatine Cenote Samula.

Arguably the astir photogenic is Cenote Suytun, a circular cavern with a azygous spread successful the ceiling, from which a almighty beam of sunlight streams down during definite times of the day. Make definite to sojourn betwixt noon and 2 p.m., erstwhile the sun’s rays deed the circular chromatic level successful the mediate of the chamber, illuminating the crystal-clear h2o similar a spotlight. 

Located on the grounds of a beauteous hacienda, Cenote Oxman is 1 of my daughter’s favourite spots, wherever you tin plaything Tarzan-style from a enactment and splash into the deep, chill h2o below. You tin besides drawback 1 of the rubber tubes and dip nether the man-made waterfall.

Gateway to past ruins

While cenotes are magical, a sojourn to Valladolid is incomplete without exploring Chichén Itzá, 1 of the astir fashionable and astir well-preserved ruins successful Mexico. Just a 45-minute thrust away, the past Maya metropolis is location to the iconic El Castillo pyramid, a testament to the civilization’s precocious knowing of astronomy and mathematics. Make definite to get determination early, earlier the circuit buses descend by 9 a.m., and hole to walk astatine slightest 3 hours astatine the site.

The El Castillo pyramid astatine Chichén Itzá is simply a testament to the ingenuity of the past Maya. (Nellie Huang)

For a much grounding experience, marque your mode to the less-crowded Ek Balam, conscionable a 30-minute thrust northbound of Valladolid. The sanction Ek Balam translates to “Black Jaguar,” and the site is renowned for its remarkably preserved stucco facades and intricate carvings. What I emotion astir astir this tract is the accidental to ascent the main pyramid, the Acropolis, which, astatine implicit 90 feet high, offers panoramic views of the surrounding jungle canopy.

Tucked heavy wrong the jungle, the ancient metropolis of Coba is different little-visited tract conscionable an hour’s thrust eastbound of Valladolid. Coba stands retired for its network of past chromatic causeways called sacbeob and galore stelae, chromatic slabs with intricate hieroglyphic inscriptions that supply insights into Mayan history. To research the sprawling site, my household hired a tricycle that was pedal-powered by a section guide, from whom we learned truthful much.

A luscious waterworld

Travel is often astir uncovering echoes of places we’ve loved successful new, unexpected destinations. The consciousness of wonderment I felt successful the earthy pools of Thailand was thing I thought was unsocial to that country of the world. But successful Valladolid, I recovered it again, deeper and with a richer communicative to tell. 

If you’re longing for refreshing dips successful a spot that feels some chaotic and sacred, Valladolid’s cenotes mightiness conscionable beryllium the answer.

Nellie Huang is simply a question writer and publication writer who’s traveled to 150 countries but has a brushed spot for Mexico. She’s the writer of Lonely Planet’s Mexico guidebook and has written hundreds of articles connected Mexico for assorted publications. Read astir her adventures worldwide connected wildjunket.com and travel her updates connected Instagram @wildjunket.