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

Riviera Maya Cenotes · Mexico · Cenote · Freshwater

Maravilla

Tree roots floating in the light of a vast cylindrical chamber

Area photo: diego_cue · CC BY-SA 3.0

Maravilla is a deep cenote whose circular opening suddenly gives way to a huge, high, cylindrical chamber. Divers come for the geology: tree roots hanging into the light from above and a shaft that keeps going far below the recreational turn point.

Also known as Cenote Maravilla, Cenote Maravillas.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Maravilla: typical dive to 30 m (to 100 ft), deepest point 45 m (148 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit30 m45 m maxtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 60 m (197 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

20.8680° N, 87.0437° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The dive starts down a ladder straight into fresh water. Below the opening the cenote widens into a huge, high cylindrical chamber; the dive turns at 30 m (98 ft) while the chamber itself carries on to 45 m (148 ft). Roots reach down from above and seem to float in the light, and small fish turn up now and then, but the rock is the main event.

Marine life and season

  • Freshwater fish
Month-by-month season rating for Maravilla
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.

Dive videos

Dive Site "Cenote Maravilla", Puerto Morelos, Mexico · Rems Production on YouTube

Questions divers ask

Does the Maravilla dive go to the bottom of the chamber?+

No. The dive turns at 30 m, while the chamber drops to 45 m.

Sources

  1. Cenote Maravilla Diving: Giant Chamber & Light Beam, 98 ft — DeepDiveMexico
  2. Cenote Maravillas — ScubaGo

More dive sites in Riviera Maya Cenotes

Cenote

A sulphide cloud you can put a hand through, at 27 m

to 27 m · max 55 madvanced

A mangrove channel dive with no overhead at all

2–7 mbeginner

Lily pads on the surface, decorated cavern underneath

to 15 mintermediate

Jump through the roof or take the ladder beside it

to 15 mintermediate

An air dome you can surface in, under two levels of stalactites

to 12 mintermediate

Where cave divers found three prehistoric skeletons

to 8.5 madvanced

A crossing to the neighbouring Rainbow Cenote

to 12 mbeginner

Nine metres of clear water used for course skills

to 9 mbeginner

Similar dives elsewhere

Cave & cavern

Cueva Padre Nuestro

Bayahibe · Dominican Republic

Taíno artefacts in place in a 9 m freshwater cave

to 9 madvanced

Cave & cavern

Dan's Cave

South Abaco Blue Holes · Bahamas

Cascade Room entrance leads to crystal rooms with names like Fangorn Forest

23–46 madvanced

Cave & cavern

Ralph's Cave

South Abaco Blue Holes · Bahamas

Formations 13,000 to 350,000 years old inside a deep, roller-coaster passage

23–47 madvanced

Wreck

Arabia

Tobermory · Canada

Bowsprit still extending from an 1852 hull at 32 m

to 32 madvanced