Mayan Attractions

A cenote (pronunciation: American Spanish: [ˈsenote], /sᵻˈnoʊti/ or/sɛˈnoʊteɪ/) is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. Especially associated with the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, cenotes were sometimes used by the ancient Maya for sacrificial offerings.

"Caves and cenotes were both entrances to the underworld, the same thing, to the Maya," says archaeologist Holley Moyes of the University of California, Merced. Surveys of caves, and now the cenote shrine, point to "tempestuous times," when pilgrims felt the need to make more sacrifices to the water deity.