A bumpy road through the overgrown Yucatan jungle dead ends at cenote Taj Mahal. Near the road, the atmosphere is hot and humid, but as a diver descends the limestone steps to the shaded cenote entrance, the temperature drops. Cenote entrances offer immediate relief from the sweltering heat, and imbue divers with a feeling of tranquility and awe. Dropping from the foliage-jammed, buzzing jungle into the cool water, as clear as glass, leaves little doubt in a diver's mind as to why the ancients considered cenotes sacred. The glistening entrance pools of the cenotes are just the beginning of what divers have alternately described as a thrilling, meditative, or almost religious experience.
Read an about.com reader's review of the Taj Mahal cavern dive.
