Located on the Yucatan Peninsula about 74 km (46 miles) south of Cancun and 51 km (32 miles) north of the ancient city of Tulum lies Playa del Carmen. Playa del Carmen or Xaman-Ha, meaning “waters of the north”, as it was called in its beginning has a long history in Mayan culture with recordings of visitors dating back to as early as 300-600 A.D. At that time, the island of Cozumel situated of the coast of Playa del Carmen was home to the Mayan goddess of fertility. Young women from all over would travel to Cozumel and pray for fertility and a healthy childbirth. On their way to Cozumel they would all stop in Xaman-Ha to rest and to prepare their dugout canoes for the crossing. In the last thirty years, Playa del Carmen has developed from a tiny fishing village into a large city with just over 100’000 inhabitants. Today, Playa del Carmen offers the same white sandy beaches and turquoise water found and enjoyed in Cancun but with significant less people.
Diving in Playa del Carmen has a unique twist to it. Similar to other dive sites found around the world there is the possibility of enjoying several sites dotted along the coast. But the unique feature found here are the Cenotes (the expression cenotes derives from the Mayan word Dzonot which means sacred well). Basically, the Yucatan Peninsula is a huge slab of limestone. Into this setting, the different sea levels that occurred over several glacial periods – the Peninsula was completely submerged at times – would carve several caves from where the water could flow back to the ocean. When the ice melted at the end of the last glacial period the global water level rose about 30 m (100 ft) resulting in the water filled caves, that divers enjoy today. If you decide to dive the coast of Playa del Carmen, there are several sites that might be of interest to you.
If you are looking for turtles, Playa del Carmen is the place to go. There are several sites where you could marvel these fantastic creatures. Xcalacoco also known as Chimenea, the chimney or the Green wall is the most northern site on your quest for turtles. Xcalacoco features a 10 m (33 ft) wall that is covered with an abundant variety of hard and soft corals. With its top at a depth of approximately 20 m (66 ft) it drops down to a depth of 30 m (100 ft), offering a perfect habitat for sharks. Going further south along the coast you will arrive at a site known as Moc-Che. Moc-Che can be divided into two parts, one being shallow with a maximum depth of 13 m (39 ft) and the other deeper to depths of 27 m (81 ft). In this deeper part with its very divers coral walls you will be able to enjoy an abundant variety of marine. Next to turtles this spot is home to lobsters, crabs, moray eels, jacks and barracudas, stingrays and groupers. During the colder season, bull sharks have been spotted crossing the reef at Moc-Che. Yet even after this experience, the mother of all turtle dives is still ahead of you:Tortuga. This coral garden located between Playa del Carmen and the Island of Cozumel is not only home to a huge number of hawksbill and loggerhead turtles but also king crabs, angelfish, groupers, nurse sharks and tarpons to name just a few. It is this setting that makes Tortuga one of the most popular sites in Playa del Carmen.
Another site that got its name from one of the inhabitants is Barracuda Reef. This finger shaped reef hosts an abundant variety of marine life that found shelter in the countless little holes dotted all over the place. Due to the current that is usually present it is recommended to stay over the reef’s edge thus avoiding dangerous situations.
If you are a fan of special settings, Playa del Carmen will not disappoint. Los Archos, suitable for experienced divers, is a site in the north that boasts with a wonderful coral wall section (covered with sponges, hard corals and gorgonians) and two arches, hence its name. Some of the creatures that inhabit this place include turtles, stingrays, moray eels and groupers. At the southern tip of Playa del Carmen is yet another site that stuns with its natural beauty. Punta Venandos is a large coral garden at depths between 20 m (66 ft) and 27 m (85 ft). The marine life at this site is profuse including trunk fish, tangs, file fish, nurse fish, parrot fish, sharks and moray eels.
Before you leave the reefs of Playa del Carmen and start exploring some of the Cenotes there is one feature yet to be explored: wrecks. The southern site of Mama Viña describes a shrimp boat that was scuttled in 1995 to form an artificial reef. A dive suitable for experienced divers only, the main deck can be penetrated. Since its scuttling this once beautiful boat has been covered by the reef presenting with a perfect habitat for species like barracudas, spotted or green moray eels, stingrays and schools of tropical fish.
Up to this day, over 50 Cenotes with a total length of over 160 km (100 miles) have been explored and cartographed. About 16 km (10 miles) south of Playa del Carmen is the first of a group of three Cenotes, two of which belong to the same cavern system. Chac-Mool is the perfect dive for beginners to cavern diving and starts in a relatively big room. In another room, below an air dome, part of the ceiling has collapsed allowing the divers to surface on it. It is here in Chac-Mool that halocline, the phenomenon where water with a lower salinity and therefore a lower density floats on higher salinity water, can be experienced. Try mixing the two! About 25 km (16 miles) south of Playa del Carmen awaits the second Cenote: Ponderosa. This site will not only please divers of all levels but snorkellers alike. Several plant covered rocks at the bottom of the cenote, combined with multiple daylight entrances, make for a perfect home for eels and different fresh water fish. The third and final cenote of this group is Taj Mahal, located about 26 km (16 miles) south of Playa del Carmen it is part of the same cavern system like Chac-Mool. Did you ever want to surface from a dive and find yourself in the middle of a jungle? Taj Mahal offers this exact experience as in the middle of the cenote there is a hole – about 10 m (33 ft) in diameter – where divers can surface.
There are several more cenotes further south some of which can be found in the area around Tulum.