The Pit — Riviera Maya Cenotes

Planning a trip?

Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Riviera Maya Cenotes location page.

Overview

The deepest known cenote in the Sistema Dos Ojos — a vertical shaft dropping past 100 m with a haunting hydrogen sulfide cloud at 30 m where freshwater meets ancient organic matter. Light shafts pierce the surface and fade into perfect black. Surreal and frequently called one of the most beautiful dives anywhere.

Briefing note

Advanced + deep cert minimum; tech training recommended. Cavern-trained guide mandatory.

What you'll see

2 species curated

Freshwater shrimp
year-round
Bone fossils (Pleistocene fauna)
year-round

Sightings evidence

1 record on file

Freshwater shrimp
high confidence
Last confirmed
Apr 2026
Recent records
130 within 10 km

Sources & methodology

How we summarise this

We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.

Sources

Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
FishBase — FishBase Consortium
Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation

Conditions

Month	Water	Visibility	Current
Jan	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
Feb	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
Mar	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
Apr	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
May	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
Jun	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
Jul	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
Aug	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
Sep	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
Oct	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
Nov	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none
Dec	24–25 °C	30–60 m	none

Season calendar

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Peak season highlighted · current month outlined

Gear for this site

Beyond the basic kit

Primary dive light — Below 30 m the hydrogen sulfide cloud blocks all surface light.
Dive computer — Deep cenote profile demands tight no-deco tracking.

Next step

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Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.

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