Guide to Puerto Morelos Cenotes: Nature's Hidden Pools

The Yucatán Peninsula sits on a vast limestone shelf riddled with underground rivers. Where the roof of these rivers has collapsed, cenotes are born — natural sinkholes filled with impossibly clear, cool water. Puerto Morelos is surrounded by some of the most beautiful and least crowded cenotes on the Riviera Maya.

What Is a Cenote?

The word cenote comes from the Maya word ts'onot, meaning a natural well. The ancient Maya considered cenotes sacred — portals to the underworld, places where the boundary between the living and the divine grew thin.

Today, they're places where you can swim in water so clear it seems to glow from within, surrounded by tree roots and stalactites that took thousands of years to form.

Cenotes Near Puerto Morelos

Cenote La Noria

Just 15 minutes from town, La Noria is a semi-open cenote with a wooden staircase descending into a cavern of turquoise water. The light filters through the opening above, creating dramatic beams that shift as the sun moves. It's rarely crowded, and the owners — a local family — keep it beautifully maintained.

How to get there: Take the road toward Central Vallarta, then follow the signs. Entry is around 150 MXN.

Cenote Siete Bocas

Seven interconnected sinkholes in the jungle, each with its own personality. Some are open to the sky; others are dark caves where bats roost in the stalactites. The swimming is excellent, and if you visit early in the morning, you might have the whole place to yourself.

Ruta de los Cenotes

The "Cenote Route" is a 30-kilometre road that runs from Puerto Morelos into the interior, passing dozens of cenotes along the way. You can easily visit three or four in a single morning by car or bicycle. Highlights include Verde Lucero (an open-air cenote with a zipline), Boca del Puma (which combines cenotes with a nature reserve), and Zapote, famous for its underwater bell-shaped formations.

Tips for Visiting

• Go early. The cenotes are coolest and least crowded before 10am.
• Wear biodegradable sunscreen — or better yet, skip sunscreen entirely and wear a rash guard. The chemicals in regular sunscreen damage the delicate cenote ecosystems.
• Bring water shoes. Some cenotes have rocky entries.
• Respect the space. These are natural environments and, for many local Maya communities, still sacred.

The cenotes of Puerto Morelos are one of the great natural wonders of the Caribbean coast. Whether you're a diver, a swimmer, or someone who just wants to float in silence beneath a canopy of jungle, there's a cenote here with your name on it.