The Riviera Maya is spotted with beautiful and mesmerizing sinkholes called Cenotes. When listening to the local Mayans, these Cenotes are portals to the underworld, Xibalbá. They are sacred places that the Mayans have used for ceremonies for centuries.
Nowadays Cenotes are often visited to take a refreshing plunge in the freshwater by locals, visitors, and divers alike. Cenote Garden of Eden, also known as Cenote Ponderosa is a unique and huge Cenote located near Playa del Carmen.
It’s well-known among the diving community and welcomes lots of snorkelers, recreational divers, and technical divers year after year.
In this blog, we explain to you everything you need to know about Cenote Garden of Eden. You will learn about its conformation, what to expect from the dive, and much more.
Cenote Diving at Cenote Garden of Eden
A Cenote dive is a special kind of dive that is conducted in freshwater ponds (Cenotes) in the Mayan jungle and is accessible to most certified divers.
Many divers choose Cenote Garden of Eden as their first-time Cenote dive because it has certain advantages.
This dive site is located close to Playa del Carmen and offers a huge open water area to acclimatize. It also features an easy and enjoyable cavern dive without major complexity.
Considered a level 1 Cenote dive, Garden of Eden is accessible to all certified divers.
Cenote Garden of Eden is surrounded by lush vegetation and has glass-clear water, with mangroves growing in and near the Cenote. The cavern dive leads through a huge tunnel towards another Cenote.
Cenote Corral is near Garden of Eden and is a nearly virgin Cenote with untouched jungle and vegetation inside the collapse. Surrounded by freshwater, divers will swim through the tunnel leading from Garden of Eden to the Cenote Corral.
Quick Facts
How Deep Is The Garden of Eden Cenote Dive?
This Cenote has a maximum depth of 15 meters in the cavern area. There are several depth changes throughout the dive. Starting with the descent towards the tunnel connecting Cenote Garden of Eden and Cenote Corral, where you descend to approximately 12 meters.
After passing the connecting tunnel, there’s another small drop to our maximum depth of 15 meters. This is where we dive through the halocline into the saltwater section of this dive.
The open water area of this Cenote has depths from 1.5 meters to 5.5 meters approximately.
Water Temperature & Conditions
The temperature in Cenote Garden of Eden is a constant 25°C (77°F) all year long. As soon as you dive through the halocline into the saltwater part of this dive, the temperature increases slightly but noticeably to approximately 27°C (80°F). It’s a comfortable temperature for most divers but requires a 5mm wetsuit to enjoy the dive for the average diver.
Dive Time
Cenote Garden of Eden is a fairly shallow Cenote dive, the dive time here can last up to 60 minutes. This always depends on each diver’s air consumption, as we can only use 1/3rd of the tank fill to dive into the cavern and another 1/3rd to dive back out. The rest remains in our tanks for any emergencies.
What Are The Requirements For Diving in Cenote Garden of Eden?
As in every Cenote, to enter the overhead environment and cavern area during a dive, all participants must be certified at least as open water divers.
The conformation of Cenote Garden of Eden is unique though. It allows uncertified divers and open water diver students to visit this Cenote in its open water area to complete their first training dives or confined water sessions.
Group Size
When booking a dive in the Garden of Eden, we take you into the cavern of this Cenote. Local rules require all cavern diving groups to consist of a maximum of 4 certified divers per guide. We follow a guideline throughout the dive and stay together as a group.
What to Expect From A Cenote Dive in Garden of Eden?
Open Water Area:
When arriving here with your guide, you’ll be impressed by the sheer size of Cenote Garden of Eden. Its huge open water area surrounded by a green, vivid jungle makes the perfect scenery and invites you to plunge into the water. The crystal-clear water makes it possible to see the rock and algae-covered ground, find little fish swimming around, and view between the mangrove roots in the Cenote.
You will prepare equipment, listen to the briefing of your Cenote dive guide, and then head in for your Cenote dive. Upon descending you will pass a short section through the open water area before entering the cavern. Your guide will connect his line from the open water area to the permanent cavern line. You will follow this line throughout the dive.
Cavern Dive:
Entering the tunnel that connects Garden of Eden with Cenote Corral, the natural light slowly seems to disappear. After about 10 minutes you will arrive at Cenote Corral, turn sharp left along the guideline, and descend a little further. Here is where you cross the halocline into the saltwater section of this dive.
Diving along Cenote Corral seems like swimming in an underwater forest on one side, and a darker cavern on the other. You can find fossils in the rocks below, dripstone formations hanging off the ceiling, and a very unique natural light show, where the sun rays drop into the water.
Upon reaching the end of the guideline, your Cenote dive guide will turn around and you’ll take the same path back towards the connecting tunnel. Eventually, you’ll reach back to Cenote Garden of Eden, where we ascend back to the surface after exiting the cavern area and completing our safety stop. Many divers resurface saying that this was one of their best Cenote diving experiences!
Bonus:
After the dive and taking off your equipment, you can take a plunge from the platform near the parking area. It’s about 5 meters above the surface over an area of deeper water! Overcome the challenge and jump into the Cenote from the platform, it’s hella fun!
Dive Cenotes With BlueLife
If you’re visiting the Riviera Maya for diving you can not miss out on diving in Cenotes during your vacation. The Yucatan Peninsula is worldwide known for its unique Cenotes and caverns. To SCUBA dive in these natural sinkholes is an adventurous activity that will create lifelong memories.
BlueLife Diving operates daily diving tours to the most impressive Cenotes in the region. Our professional Cenote dive guides look forward to accompanying you on this unique dive. They will be guiding you through the picturesque caverns of the Riviera Maya safely.
Whether you want to dive into Cenote Garden of Eden or prefer any of the other Cenotes to spend your day, we’ll make sure you enjoy your day to the fullest and get the best experience along with magical views.
We take you from our dive shop in Playa del Carmen to the Cenote, provide logistics, lunch, and water throughout the activity, and ensure you’ll be brought back to Playa after your dive safely.
Get in touch now for further information or to reserve your cenote dives with BlueLife Diving. Also, we’re happy to help you create a bespoke SCUBA diving multi-day package for your visit, so that you can view more Cenotes, or dive in some of the impressive reefs the area has to offer.
If you dove Cenotes before, and are hooked on the experience – why not go for the next step and enroll in your cavern diving course? BlueLife Diving offers high-quality technical and cavern/cave diving training, AND you’ll get to see even more Cenotes during the course!