Cenotes Hacienda Mucuyché

Useful Information

Location:	Mucuyché. Municipality of Abalá, Yucatán, 1 hour south of Mérida. (20.625485, -89.604442)
Open:	Bathing: All year daily 9-17. Guided tours: All year Tue-Sun 9-14, hourly. [2021]
Fee:	Adults MXP 590, Children (4-12) MXP 350, Children (0-3) free, INAPAM MXP 350. Locals: Adults MXP 390, Children (4-12) MXP 250, Children (0-3) free, INAPAM MXP 250. [2021]
Classification:	Cenote
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:	D=120 min.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Cenotes Hacienda Mucuyché, Mucuyché, Abalá, Yucatán, CP 97825, Tel: +52-999-547-6087, Tel: +52-999-649-9203, WhatsApp: +52-999-547-6087. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1865	Carlota, the Empress of Mexico, visits Mucuyché.
2012	opened to the public.

Description

Cenotes Hacienda Mucuyché is located on an 18th century hacienda and plantation, named after the nearby village. The site has overgrown paths and a canal which connects two cenotes. The hacienda was used for cattle ranching, agriculture and a henequen plantation. Henequen was called “green gold” and made plantation owners wealthy. It is a type of agave cactus whose fiber, called sisal, is used to produce rope. After the henequen boom ended, the hacienda was closed and remained closed for a long time. It was recently restored and is now open with guided tours. As far as we understand it is not possible to visit the site just for bathing, but it is possible to take a bath after the tour.

The Carlota cenote is 7 m deep and was named after Carlota, the Empress of Mexico, who visited Mucuyché on a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula. According to legend she was the first person to bathe in its waters. Cenote "Azul Maya" is a waterfilled cavern with stalactites and a small karstfenster to the surface which allows a ray of sunlight to enter the cavern and illuminate the water with a blue tint. It was a sacred place of the Maya. The channel connects the two cenotes, and it is possible to move from one cenote to another by swimming through the channel or on a stone path one meter above the water, which was cut into the rock.

The site offers guided tours of the hacienda and has a restaurant with local cuisine. There is infrastructure like changing room, showers, and lockers. They provide life vest and goggles, and there are always trained paramedics ready to assist. The site also has a swimming pool for less adventurous visitors.