This story was originally published in our Mar/Apr 2023 issue. Click here to subscribe to read more stories like this one.
Across Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, pools of azure water punch through the landscape like Swiss cheese. In many of these sinkholes, called cenotes (pronounced “seh-NOtays”), braided root systems and spiraling foliage descend multiple stories down limestone walls to soak in the oases.
Increasingly, however, the flora is sharing these cool waters with throngs of human visitors — swimming, snorkeling or snapping selfies in the otherworldly setting.
Geologically speaking, Mexico’s cenotes are entry points to the Yucatán Peninsula’s uniquely shallow and vital aquifer. They’re entry points for tourists, too, as more and more of these natural marvels are developing into eco-park attractions. And travel access across this region is projected to expand significantly as of 2024, due to an ambitious national train project. But the transportation effort, spearheaded by Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is generating waves of controversy between local communities, the president and conservationists.
