When flying over the Peninsula you can see circular ground patterns caused by the hidden movement of underground rivers and lakes. The water level rises and falls with the cycle of rain and drought. The constant ebb and flow erodes the underground limestone and it collapses creating steep walled caverns and exposing the water below. Cenote or dzonot meaning "cavity of water" is a term used by the Maya for any subterranean chamber that contains permanent water. While some cenotes are vertical, water-filled shafts, others are caves that contain pools and underwater passageways in their interior. Around these water sources the Maya villages grew since the cenotes were the only source of water, and therefore essential to survival. They were used as sources of drinking water, sources of "virgin" water for religious rites, burial and/or sacrificial sites, art galleries, places of refuge, and mines for clay or minerals.

Cenote Ik-Kil (full day trip)

One of the nicest cenotes in this area is Ikkil, located 4 miles (6 kilometers) from Chichen Itza on the old road to Valladolid.

Cenote Dzinup (full day trip)

Located 4.3 miles southeast of Valladolid, this cenote is underground with a hole in the ceiling. It is probably one of the most photographed cenotes in the Yucatan. Deep, refreshing, crystal clear waters await you and it is a great cenote for swimming. There is lighting and a guide rope to make it easier to enter. Don't forget to buy a picture postcard from the kids at the entrance as taking a picture just never turns out right and you WILL want a picture of this to show the family.

The Cenotes of Cuzama (full day trip)

Cuzamá village is well known for the large amount of cenotes which exist there. At the hacienda in Cuzama, tourists can hire a guide with a buggy pulled by horses. The trip is 7km long through the surrounding countryside and shows numerous cenotes and stops at three of them.

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