Cenote Choo Há

Beautiful, Off the Beaten Path Underground Cenote Near Coba Ruins!
Cenote Choo-​Ha is a beautiful underground cenote that is located about a 10 minute drive from the Coba Ruins. This cenote is situated slightly off the beaten path and it is lesser known and written about (you won’t find it listed on too many websites or in many guidebooks).
I visited this cenote during the afternoon of November 14^th with friends from my hostel in Tulum.
I had rented a car from Tulum and drove to this cenote after visiting the ruins, in combination with the two other nearby cenotes in this group, Tamcach-​Ha and Multum-​Ha. From the parking lot at the Coba ruins, we turned left and followed the road around the lagoon. We took another left turn at the first road we came to, with a sign at the corner pointing us in the right direction. We drove through a portion of the Coba village, and then made a right turn down a narrow and newly paved highway that was surrounded by gorgeous, thick and lush jungle on both sides. After driving along the highway for a little while and following the signs, we turned left on a dirt road. The ticket booth for all three cenotes was located at the entrance to this road. We continued down this road where both Cenotes Tamcach-​Ha and Choo-​Ha were located. The entire drive took about 10 minutes from the ruins.
The entrance fee for each cenote was 55 pesos or 165 pesos for a ticket to all three.
I visited Cenote Choo-​Ha first and it ended up being my favourite cenote of the three. There were rustic washroom facilities and a changing area on the cenote property. I loved how the cenote was in a completely natural setting — surrounded by jungle and not touristy or over-​developed at all. The cenote was situated deep underground.
The entrance to Choo-​Ha consisted of a small opening in the ground, surrounded by a circular stone wall. As we descended down the wooden staircase, the cenote opened up to a large round cavern with high rock ceilings. There were so many interesting rock formations that connected the ground with the ceiling and there were lots of stalactites and stalagmites in the cavern as well. The staircase from the ground level led onto to a natural rock platform that was partially surrounded by water. I felt safe leaving my belongings on the rocks, as we had the entire cenote to ourselves.
The water was so clear and it was shallow enough that you could stand in some areas. There were wooden stairs leading into the water in multiple areas of the cenote and ropes across the water where you could take a rest from swimming.
Choo-​Ha was absolutely gorgeous and I really enjoyed my refreshing swim there! Because we were completely alone in this cenote, the atmosphere was so quiet, calm and tranquil, which I loved.
Cenote Choo-​Ha is a natural beauty, magical place and a hidden gem that is well worth the visit after touring the Coba Ruins!

En mi búsqueda por conocer todos los cenotes posibles que existen en la Península de Yucatán, aunque sé que es imposible llegar a conocerlos todos, no pierdo nada por intentarlo. Así que por recomendación, llegue al cenote Choo Há, como dato cultural, su nombre en maya significa «agua que gotea». Es un cenote cerrado, ubicado a seis minutos de la zona Arqueológica de Cobá.
Cuando bajaba las escaleras, es llegar a otro mundo, es una realidad paralela. Esto me confirma las historias tan exóticas de los mayas. Yo me sentía en la luna, con rocas gigantes, estalactitas y estalagmitas. El agua estaba fría, por lo cual no me metí, porque sólo de pensarlo me daba frío. Lo que me conquistó fue una plantita chiquita que salía de entremedio de dos piedras, era como Wall-​e (léase como lo decían en la película). No sé cómo describir la experiencia, este cenote entra en mis top ten de los que he visitado. El valor de la entrada es de $ 50MXP, una ganga.

Si ya de por sí, pensar en albercas naturales gigantes hechas de piedras y solidificaciones de agua, como lo son los cenotes te parecía ya exótico, ahora imagina que vas a la zona arqueológica de Cobá, esas majestuosas edificaciones mayas. Un recorrido de toda una mañana explorando el mundo maya, conociéndolo a fondo, entre las explicaciones de los guías y la imponente presencia de estas casas, templos, lugares sagrados. Al salir, te ofrecen la entrada a 3 diferentes cenotes. El Choo Há, el Tankach Há y el Multum Há, con un costo de entrada de $ 50 MXP c/​u. El Choo há pareciera ser por fuera un hoyo, por donde baja una escalera y al descender, se abre ante ti una caverna subterránea. Puedes nadar en sus cristalinas y muy frías aguas. Arriba, antes de bajar, puedes rentar un chaleco salvavidas por si no sabes nadar o si por comodidad prefieres usarlo. Es hermoso, alrededor de la caverna está el agua y en el centro hay rocas desde donde puedes observar este hermoso cenote. Abren de 9:00 a 18:00 horas de lunes a domingo y es altamente recomendable. Ya que estás allá, puedes visitar los otros dos cenotes, en el Multum Há donde hay vestigios mayas en el fondo del cenote y el Tankach Há es ideal como para aventarte clavados desde mucha, mucha altura.