Sac Actun Cenote : A Time Machine to the Origins of the World

Sac Actun might be a cenote, but it’s also part of a system of caves. In fact, it is the longest underground system of caves in the world. With over 200 miles long. Archeologists have found many valuable things here from many different eras of the world, hinting at Sac Actun’s cenote rich and long history.

A little history lesson

The Yucatan Peninsula is home to over 7000 sinkholes, aka cenotes, with a significant concentration in the Sac Actun System area. This system sits in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. It also sits on a sedimentary platform with rocks from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras.

Sac Actun meaning

Sac Actun, meaning “White Cave”, was not always named as such and is renowned for its “Pet Cemetery”. It is unrelated to the Stephen King novel or horror film. The place contains a multitude of animal bones and fossils. These include those of pumas, jaguars, and mammoths.

The remains include the oldest human skeleton in Latin America. Its name is Naia, believed to be 12,600 years old. Other findings here include Mayan artifacts, suggesting its significance as a ceremonial site or possibly a path to the underworld.

Do I need to be a diver to swim at the cenote?

No, you can’t enter at your leisure; swimming in the pool at the cave’s entrance is permitted without a guide, but entering the cenote itself requires one, as it differs from others where you pay entrance fees and rent equipment independently.

Instead, guided tours are provided, including lifejackets and equipment like masks, snorkels, wetsuits, and flashlights, with guides leading small groups through the cave system, explaining rock formations and discoveries, typically lasting less than an hour.

Diving at the Sac Actun Cenote

This is an important cenote, so you can bet your diver’s mask there are excursions to visit these caves with an oxygen tank instead of a snorkel. The caves and paths can get pretty narrow, so we don’t recommend it for anyone who doesn’t have a lot of diving experience or is claustrophobic.

The Sac Actun Cenote offers a very different experience from the rest, for sure. You will find it on Highway 307, on the Cancun-Chetumal route, passing Xel-Ha, just west of Tulum and a little over 50 km from Playa del Carmen.

For more information and bookings go to http://www.cenotessacactun.com/