An exciting ride in a thrilling environment

Named after a Mayan legend about a beautiful woman and the Ceiba or Ya’axché, the sacred Mayan tree, it is an open cenote (freshwater pool) ideal for relaxing and floating on its crystalline water. (Foto: Parque Chikin Ha)

Ta’ak Bil-Ha –“hidden water”–, is the natural stage for a Mayan purification ceremony that takes place every day. Considered sacred by the Maya, cenotes represent a gateway to the underworld and home to the god of rain, Chaac. (Foto: Parque Chikin Ha)

Chikin-Ha Cenote –“water of the west” in Mayan–, ideal for a refreshing swim.

The park features a zipline, temazcal steam bath, bike ride through the jungle, kitchen and dining areas, in addition to showers, dressing rooms and snorkel gear.

The impact of an asteroid on the Yucatan Peninsula some 65 million years ago, created a fracture zone, which over time and with the filtration of water through the porous rock, formed intricate networks of underground rivers and crystalline freshwater pools, called cenotes.

Discovered in 1997, Chikin-Ha Park is home to three cenotes: Chikin-Ha, Ta’ak Bil-Ha and X’tabay, the last one is part of the Ponderosa underground river system, stretching more than 15,000 meters in length. In the park, the X’men (Mayan priest or shaman) performs the ceremony, stimulating the senses with the smell of copal and the taste of Ba’alché –a drink made from the nectar extracted from the bark of the ba’alché tree. (Foto: Parque Chikin Ha)