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Crystal-clear turquoise pool inside Cenote Dos Ojos, with limestone stalactites hanging from the cavern ceiling — Riviera Maya Cenotes

Riviera Maya Cenotes · Mexico · Cenote · Cave & cavern · Freshwater

Cenote Dos Palmas

Four permanent cave lines from one platform

Area photo: diego_cue · CC BY-SA 3.0

Dos Palmas is a shallow cave-diving entrance in the Dos Ojos cave system, with four permanent lines leaving its entrance platform. Cave divers come for long bottom times in a beautifully decorated system that links upstream to Dos Ojos and downstream to Nicte Ha.

Also known as Dos Palmas.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Cenote Dos Palmas: typical dive to 10.4 m (to 34 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit10.4 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

20.3249° N, 87.3832° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

Seventeen steps lead down from the wood deck to the entrance platform, where four permanent lines start. The upstream and downstream lines see the most traffic, and the whole area stays within 10.4 m (34 ft), which leaves plenty of time among the formations.

Upstream, the line runs 1,067 m (3,500 ft) against the flow to Cenote Dos Ojos; downstream, a twenty-eight-minute swim leads to Cenote Nicte Ha, also called High Voltage.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Cenote Dos Palmas
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
GoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGoodGood

Season follows Riviera Maya Cenotes: Cenote water temperature holds steady all year; Dos Ojos gets busier in the December–April peak season while most other cenotes stay quiet.

Know before you go

  • The upstream line runs against the flow for 1,067 m (3,500 ft) to Cenote Dos Ojos.
  • Every permanent line leads into an overhead cave environment, not a daylight cavern zone.

Dive videos

Cenote "DOS PALMAS" Mexico with Gozo Technical Diving · Tom Steiner [Gozotechnicaldiving] on YouTube

Questions divers ask

Can the Dos Palmas lines reach Dos Ojos?+

Yes: the upstream line runs 1,067 m against the flow to Cenote Dos Ojos, and the downstream line reaches Nicte Ha in a twenty-eight-minute swim.

Sources

  1. Dos Palmas cenote — Cave Ha Diving
  2. Cenote Dos Palmas — ScubaGo

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