Cuzama, Yucatan

Cuzama, Railway adventure

 

Just 45 minutes east of Merida is Cuzama, a newly popular attraction thanks to its beautiful cenotes and the special way you can visit en enjoy them. Horse drawn, narrow-gauge rail carts leave from near the town church. Once used to transport henequen from the plantations to the haciendas for processing, they now serve to take visitors on the 9 km tour along century-old rails to the town's tree cenotes. Yucatan has almost three thousand cenotes that provide visitors the chance to swim in cool, crystalline waters, or even explore their depths by scuba diving.

 

Cuzama's tree cenotes are special in their own way: Chelentun (means "reclining stone" in Maya) is a water hole with cement stairs and a balustrade for easier access to this natural wonder. Chansinic'che is not so easy to access; entrance is by an 8 meter long ladder made of the same narrow-gauge rails the cart on. Bolonchoojol is also entered by a rail ladder and small hole, but is well worth the effort. A natural dome arches over transparent turquoise waters with amazing stalactites visible underneath.