Dive Site or Area
Dive Site:
Taj MahaDate of Your Dive:
20/09/10Country/ Continent:
MexicoDifficulty
IntermediateIs There A Required Certification Level?
AOW or Cavern
Depth
48' or
Temperature
Summer: 78 F or 25.5 C
Winter: 76 F or 24 C
A 3mm full length wetsuit and a hood if you tend to get cold.
Conditions
Visibility can be limitless
Who Should You Contact to Dive This Site?
dennis@diablodivers.com
When Should You Dive This Site?
Anytime of the year, rain or shine
My Review
Cenote Taj Maha is one of my favorite dives. After a short walk down cement stairs to the water's edge we preform predive checks and then descend to find a large, formation-filled chamber known as Points of Light. This area is appropriately named. The sunlight penetrates the ceiling through small holes in the ceiling making "laser beams" of light that dance through the water.
Continuing our descent to 43', we pass though the halocline on our approach to Cenote Sugar Bowl. Only 10 minutes into the dive we slowly we ascend to 6’ and arrive at Cenote Sugar Bowl safely. A diver in Taj Mahal experiences the sensation of being weightless in an alien environment.
Descending again to a depth of 48' we make our way to the furthest point of penetration, marked by a skull and cross bones sign. Further penetration would be beyond the rules of a safe cavern dive. After looking at the many fossils in this area we turn towards Cenote Bill's Hole and another burst of light reflected off the surrounding plants. Checking the light show and looking for a few more fossils, we continue back towards the Sugar Bowl.
Leaving the Sugar Bowl we pass a gorgeous formation known as the Devil's Tower named for the its resemblance to Devils Tower NM in Wyoming. We follow the line to the right, gradually ascending as we make our way back around the Points of Light chamber. With many formations above our heads, it is very important to maintain good buoyancy control in order to protect this fragile environment. It is easy to become distracted as we gaze in amazement at the beauty around us. The importance of proper buoyancy is reinforced as we gently fin over a large stack of formations that were collected and assembled in an organized mound - a sad tribute to formations that took thousands of years to grow but were broken after a diver's careless move or momentary lapse in judgement.
Spending the last 8 minutes of our dive between 20 and 15' we approach the end of our dive having completed our safety stop while still enjoying the sights around us. With a final thumbs up we ascend to the surface to reflect on the the natural beauty of the cenote.
