Cenotes of the Riviera Maya by Steve Gerrard

CENOTE CRISTAL - NAHARON
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Region South Tulum
Location  
GPS Position  
Land Owner Ejido Tulum
Dive Site  Fee  
Maximum Depth 124 feet/37.5 meters, near Cenote JailHouse
Average Depth Varies too greatly to determine an average
Distance Explored / Surveyed 70,730 feet/21,433 meters
First Explorers Cenote Cristal (Naharon) Jim Coke - 1985

Cenote Escondido (Mayan Blue), Steve Gerrard, Tony & Nancy DeRosa and Hilario Hiler - “A” tunnel August, 1986
Steve Gerrard & Denny Atkinson - “B” tunnel - October, 1986
Other Explorers Lori Beth Conlin, Paul DeLoach, Johanna DeGroot, Paul Heinerth, Mike Madden, Parker Turner, Tom Young, Chris Van Winkle, John Zumrick
Upstream YES
Downstream YES
Cavern Dive YES, Both Cenote Cristal (Naharon) and Escondido (Mayan Blue)
Snorkeling YES, Both Cenote Cristal (Naharon) and Escondido (Mayan Blue) are popular with commercial snorkeling companies
Cenotes within Cave System
  1. Cenote Cristal (Cenote Naharon)
  2. Cenote Escondido (Cenote Mayan Blue)
  3. Cenote Sunhole
  4. Cenote Little Maya
  5. Cenote of the Sun
  6. Cenote Jailhouse
Cenote Location Cenote Cristal- three kilometers south of the Puebla Tulum on Highway 307, It is public ecological park belonging to the Ejido Tulum

Cenote Escondido (Mayan Blue) - GPS Position: N 20 11. 549¨, W 087 29.´ 807; located on a ranch road, directly across the highway from Cenote Cristal. Drive one kilometer into the jungle, It is a popular snorkel site with dressing palapas and Mayan style elevated bathrooms

Cenote of the Sun - ½ kilometer past Cenote Escondido on the ranch road with one parking space on the left (north) side, It will require a 50 meter walk to a small pool of water

Cenote Jailhouse - located at the very end of the ranch road with parking within 20 meters
Accessibility Cenote Cristal - EASY 50 meter walk from parking area on a smooth path, Walk directly into the water

Cenote Escondido - EASY, From parking area 50 meter dirt trail With stone border through jungle, There are three stone tables available for equipment setup, 8 foot/2.3 meter jump to the water or use wooden ladder and platform provided by the Ejido Tulum
Cave Description Cenote Cristal (Naharon) is known as the "dark" cave, Tannic acid intrudes into water from a huge swamp located 8 kilometers further west into the jungle, This tannic acid over geological time stains the calcium carbonate into a very dark brown color, Very highly decorated but with the darkness, lights are absorbed, Would be considered one the "best" caves to dive if it were not for everything being stained, Saltwater areas not affected with limestone bleached by the saltwater

Cenote Escondido (Mayan Blue) has both impressive fresh and Saltwater passage ways, Freshwater areas are very brown in color while the saltwaters areas are bleached white
Best Dives Cenote Cristal (Naharon) -
  1. Main line to Chac's Room (1700 feet/515 meters) and beyond, involves one jump (gap & snap)
  2. The Desconocido Dome line, Go to main line and take first jump to the left, 2100 feet/637 meters upstream is the Double Domes
  3. Southwestern Sacbe passage, Involves two jumps, Go to main line, take first jump to the left, follow that line for 200 feet/60 meters and jump to the left, The permanent guideline is out of sight, follow slope down to 55 feet/meters
Cenote Escondido (Mayan Blue)
  1. The "A" line upstream to the 'Dark Domes' - a spectacular passage located 1400 feet/424 meters upstream the "A" line on the left side
  2. The "B" to "E" to "A" circuit dive - Enter the "B" passage and Follow gold kermantile permanent guideline for 800 feet/242 meters, Two arrow directional markers, Jump 30 feet/10 meters to the left entering the "E" line passage, Follow this white guideline for 900 feet/300 meters where it leads into the "A" line passage, At 600 feet/90 meters, the "F" line jump the directional markers will change pointing towards the "A" line passage, Takes usually an hour to swim at a normal pace, The "A" permanent guideline is a gold kermantile guideline
  3. The Traverse - A complicated dive between Mayan Blue and Naharon that requires a set-up/familiarization dive involving two primary guide reels and at least three jumps, Over 5,000 feet/1515 meters in distance and should be done with a stage bottle or large volume tanks
  4. The Cenote of the Sun Traverse - Entering at the 'Dead Zone' Room located at the far side of the Mayan Blue basin, this line is one continuous guideline to the Cenote of the Sun further south, There is one section 25 minutes downstream that offers minor restrictions and halocline, It is the easier of two routes
Map Available YES, Cartographer/explorer Jim Coke has drawn three excellent maps with the help of Tom Young and Harve Thorne
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