The best cenotes in Homún

Families usually like Santa Bárbara for its paths, bikes and life jackets, and Tza Ujun Kat for its easy access close to town. Photographers prefer cave cenotes like Canunchén and Santa Rosa at midday, when light enters through the roof openings.

Strong swimmers looking for a quieter feel can ask their mototaxi driver for smaller family-run cenotes, which often have only a ladder and a few visitors.

Homún lies on the Ring of Cenotes, an arc of sinkholes that follows the buried rim of the Chicxulub impact crater. Fractured limestone along the rim let groundwater dissolve caves, and their roofs later collapsed into cenotes.

That is why so many cenotes sit close together here, unlike areas farther from the ring.

Both towns sit on the Ring of Cenotes about an hour from Mérida. Homún has more cenotes, many family-run, and you move between them by mototaxi. Cuzamá is famous for its horse-drawn carts (truks) on old rail tracks to three cenotes. With a full day and a car, you can do some of each.

Drive or take a colectivo to Homún, then hire a local mototaxi at the town entrance. Drivers know which cenotes are open and plan a loop of three or four, waiting at each one. Each cenote charges its own entry in cash, and some parks bundle several cenotes on one ticket. Local guides, buggy and ATV tours are also offered.

Three or four is comfortable, with about 45 minutes to an hour in each. More than that turns into rushing between stairs and changing rooms.

Go early on a weekday. Cenotes open around 8:00 to 9:00 and weekends bring families from Mérida. Midday gives the best light beams in cave cenotes. Most close in the late afternoon, so start before noon.

Most Homún cenotes are cave or semi-open, reached by stairs or ladders into an underground room, like Canunchén and Santa Rosa. Bal-Mil has old Maya handprints on its walls. Santa Bárbara groups three cenotes in one park, and Tza Ujun Kat is a large, easy cenote near town.

Life jackets are required in many Homún cenotes. Regular sunscreen and repellent are not allowed; shower first. Stairs and ladders can be wet and steep, so wear water shoes. Stay in the lit swimming area.

Homún has small hotels, cabins and glamping near the cenotes. Staying the night lets you reach the first cenote at opening time before day-trippers arrive from Mérida.