Cenotes Dos Ojos & El Pit (Mexico)

October 6, 2019 OzDive

Nov 2019

Cenotes Dos Ojos, Bat Cave & El Pit

Tulum, Mexico

▸ Dos Ojos: On our way to Playa Del Carmen, we obviously stopped in Tulum from where you can dive some of the best cenotes in the world. Before arrival, I had arranged a 3 dive day trip with Infinity2Diving. Please check out the Dive Shop section for more details. We started diving at Dos Ojos, and there is only one word that can describe the dive experience in a cave - WOW. Incredible visibility, almost as clear as being in an on-ground cave. Before the dive, we received a detailed briefing about the cave, lights, navigation, history, and code of conduct. Listen carefully, it is a must-do before the dive. We then started with the dive which ranged from 3-12m. So it was rather shallow but you dive into a labyrinth of caves and cathedrals. Somehow I was under the impression that Dos Ojos was just a hole in the ground - far from the truth. Dos Ojos is a massive network of tunnels and caves, covered with beautiful and colorful stalactites. We spent almost an hour gently gliding through this impressive and sometimes scary underwater fairytale land. Note that you need a torch on all the time, there is no light and it is pitch black. But once you put the light on, it almost feels like a spaced-up concert of colors, reflections, and illusions. Stunning, hard to describe.
▸ Bat Cave: The second dive was again in Dos Ojos, but this time we took a different turn to the Bat Cave. A cathedral (hole in the ground) with just a small opening on the surface. We had a little break here and surfaced, experiencing amazing light reflections and stalactites. Also, the cave - as the name suggests - is full of bats. I found this dive even more exciting as it had everything. On the way back we passed places that created amazing sceneries with sun rays breaking through the water surface. Again, this is a must-do dive.
▸ El Pit: The third dive was very different from the Dos Ojos. El Pit is an amazing and also the deepest sinkhole in the State of Quintana Roo with about 120m depth. El Pit is shaped like a giant hourglass with the first cave dropping to around 30-40m (it could easily fit an entire airplane). Around 15-20m down is the halocline, the line where freshwater and saltwater meets producing a strange and blurry water illusion (also makes it difficult to take pictures). Below the halocline, around 32m down is a cloud of hydrogen sulfur. This experience is surreal. The cloud looks like mysterious fog, which you can pass through. With the branches and fallen rocks that sit right within the cloud layer, it makes it a perfection location for the next Pet Semetrary movie. As mentioned, this cave has it all from beautiful stalactites to irritating halocline and creepy hydrogen sulfur clouds. Absolutely thrilling.