Zaci Cenote and Restaurant

Cenotes are a big part of the Riviera Maya and Valladolid is no exception. Some of the most well-known and iconic are found around this colonial city, as well as others, less well-known, but by no means less beautiful. You don’t have to travel far to experience the Zaci cenote and its restaurant, as it’s in the middle of the city.

Where is Zaci Cenote and Restaurant?

If you’re used to traveling out of town to visit a cenote, you’ll be surprised to know the Zaci Cenote and Restaurant is right in downtown Valladolid, only two blocks away to the east from its central plaza.

It is a very comfortable location, as popular hotels, like Meson del Marques, La Aurora or Casa Valladolid are nearby. It’s like going to the local town pool.

The Cenote part of the Zaci Cenote and Restaurant

More than any other kind, semi-open cenotes are the most breathtaking, as you get the whole scope of their extension as well as just how deep they are buried underground. This is even more exacerbated at Zaci cenote because of its enormous size, both in extension and depth.

There’s a shallow area in the water where you can sit in it and enjoy its coolness while striking a conversation or two with friends and strangers alike. The rest is a pool of which—it is said—we still don’t know exactly how deep it is. What we do know is that it’s connected to cenotes as far as Chichen Itza.

The Restaurant part of the Zaci Cenote and Restaurant

The entrance is free if you eat at the restaurant (those who want to do both pay their entrance to the cenote, which later gets discounted from their restaurant check), and that is an experience in itself. It is built as close to the edge of the cenote as possible, giving it a great view of the massive hole in the ground.

It serves typical Mexican comfort food, and there’s nothing like enjoying a delicious meal accompanied by the sound of the waterfall and seeing other visitors enjoying the cenote down below.