Yucatan Cenotes, Mexico
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Beneath the steamy jungle in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula lie three of the longest underwater cave systems in the world. These largely unmapped flooded cave systems have become a magnet for advanced divers who come to navigate their way between the natural sinkholes known as cenotes, which were considered deeply spiritual places by the ancient Maya. Sadly some divers have perished in these stunning freshwater pools, including one death in 2022.
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Darkness, disorientation, becoming entangled in vegetation and squeezing through tight spaces are just some of the perils facing divers as they explore. But the rewards are plentiful: extraordinary fish and spectacular rock formations, stalactites, stalagmites and fossils, lit by shafts of light filtering down from the cenote openings. It’s possible to swim and snorkel in the caverns too, but those wishing to dive deep within the systems need to undergo extensive cave diver training.