Cycling to Cenote San Lorenzo Oxman, Valladolid

A wonderful way to spend a day whilst you are in Valladolid is to rent bicycles in the town and go to explore the surrounding cenotes and villages.

We managed to reach a few and also stopped off in Dzitnup for some delicious tacos al pastor, but my favourite was the enormous and peaceful cenote located in a quiet hacienda called San Lorenzo Oxman, hidden down a dirt track only about 5km outside of the town.

The hacienda itself is very pretty

 

The cenote is invisible from the approach, so when I saw the modest entrance leading to the stairs down I thought that the cycle ride in the intense heat to get there definitely hadn’t been worth it…

 

But what lies underneath that patch of dry land really blew my mind. It is the most beautiful cenote; it is huge, like a crater hole open to the blue skies, laden with long roots hanging down into the fresh water and incredible shapes and patterns in the rocks.

The trees that perch on the edge of the cenote are incredible survivors, reaching down into the endless water :

The cenote is so deep underground, it is hard to get a perspective – it was impossible to get a photograph that captured the depth of those walls.

We spent a good few hours at San Lorenzo Oxman, swimming and thinking about the mystical nature of these wonderful treasures found all over Yucatan.

If you want peace and quiet, this is a good bet since it does not appear in most guide books and Cancun tour schedules. We arrived early in the morning and were alone there for two hours.

(let’s keep this secret to ourselves…;)