Cenote Calavera (The Temple of Doom)
Cenote Calavera, which means “Skull” in Spanish, is named after its three openings that form the shape of two eyes and a mouth. This is a Jug style cenote. The roof has caved in, forming a narrow opening above the wider perimeter of water underneath.
This Cenote is wild because in order to get in you have to do a cliff dive. The largest hole is 8-10 feet above the water line, and the smaller holes are higher than that. It’s challenging enough that the timid are too scared to jump.
Once inside, there is nowhere to stay dry so you have to swim. Here you will get a great view of the inside of the cavern. You will see Fruit Bats, Cave Swifts and Motmots. If you have snorkel gear you can also check out some of the cave entrances under the water line. There is a ladder you can use to crawl back out.
You can scuba dive this cenote. The attached cave system is quite vast, but the permanent dive lines only extend a short distance around the perimeter. Of course you shouldn’t venture into the caves past the lines because you can easily get lost and drown in caves. This cenote is recommended for advanced divers because it requires good buoyancy control. Once underwater, you get a really cool view of the light shining through the 3 openings of the cenote. The light effects get enhanced further by the multilayered halcoline. This is a very authentic cave experience where you can spot bones and ancient mayan pottery fragments.
There is a parking area and tables where you can set up dive equipment. There are no bathrooms. You have to walk a rough trail to get to the cenote from the parking area. If you are scuba diving you will have to do a challenging giant stride with a long fall to get in. All these rough features add to the adventure experience of the Temple of Doom.