El Pit or in English: The Pit, is perhaps the most spectacular cenote in Tulum (Mexico) that I have ever dove.

El Pit Cenote

The cenote is exclusively for certified scuba divers. Following an incident of snorkelers jumped on top of ascending scuba divers that continued to series of events that involved fights, hospitalization, and soon; the management decided to make it as an exclusive cenote only for scuba divers. I am not surprised by the story. The entrance of the cenote is smaller compared to popular cenotes like the Dos Ojos and the Grand Cenote; such incidents could indeed happen.

El Pit Cenote from above, the image was taken from the edge of the cenote

El Pit Cenote (Click for larger image)

The location is in the same complex as Dos Ojos Cenote. Dos Ojos and El Pit are connected through underwater caves system. Bebe, our diving guide/instructor, told us, it would take approximately three hours diving to reach Dos Ojos from El Pit through its caves, while, it was only for 10 minutes car driving. To dive or to drive, it’s a matter of choice 😀

The cenote is deeper than 40 meter and very wide inside. Something that you would not expect when seeing the cenote from the land. It feels like you are entering a hole and you were “flying” inside it to get deeper. We saw stunning formations of stalagmites and stalactites. It was just like the caves in the land but this one was full of water.  It is also known to have sulfur clouds and halocline at a depth of 20 to 30 meter. The sulfur clouds as explained by Chris and Nikki, are Hydrogen Sulphide, which is formed by the bacterial decomposition of organic material that has fallen into the cenote.

As we reached to 25 meters, it felt like we were in a different world. There was an old tree in the middle of clouds, the smokey sulfur clouds. It was a magical and breathtaking sight. I wish I could take the images of what I saw, but it was too dark, and there were not enough lights. My images were mostly blurred and dark. A total failed photography opportunity. But thankfully Dutchie and his GoPro managed to take some footage when we were in the sulfur cloud. Following is our video and hope you get the impression of the magical world inside El Pit Cenote.