Exploring Cenote Xulo — A Diver's Guide to Mexico's Hidden Underwater Gem
The cave at Cenote Xulo is a special place for many divers. The sheer beauty of the places from the very beginning of the dive, the variety and the ever-changing profile make it a favourite dive for many! The huge, decorated spaces of the mainline contrast with the tight, sidemount side tunnels.
Crystal-clear water inside Cenote Xulo with stunning stalactites overhead.
The Exploration History of Cenote Xulo
Xulo is part of the Caterpillar cave system in Muyil and was first explored by Alvaro Roldan in 2013. He connected it to Cenote Caterpillar through a small restriction (without passing through as he didn’t want to damage the fragile stalagmite in the middle of the passage, which was later broken by a visiting diver) which has become a popular traverse. Sistema Caterpillar is currently around 110,000 feet or 33 kilometres long (as of March 2024) making it one of the longest cave systems in the area (and by default, the world). Many of the cenotes are small, inaccessible jungle cenotes, but Xulo is easily accessible and has bathroom and shower facilities. The caretaker is always super friendly, and they have many cute dogs. The cenote was first dove by Alvaro Roldan after he met the former land owner after a dive in the neighbouring Cenote Caterpillar. The majority of the exploration was done in 2013 by Alvaro Roldan, Kim Davidsson and Mauro Bordignon.
THE MAINLINE SECTION — The cave is characterised by two distinct sections, the bigger mainline which runs through a series of giant rooms and tunnels, and smaller squirrely side tunnels. As soon as you descend from the surface pool, you drop into a massive room, a huge boulder, covered in stalagmites rears up from the floor, while the ceiling is covered with delicate stalactites and soda straws. Anywhere else, this would be the ultimate room, but the cave continues to give up it’s beauty as you advance. Swimming up through a forest of columns, you almost reach the water’s surface in an air dome. Here as tree roots trail into the water in their search for life, their tannins leach out, giving the water a green tinge. Before divers’ bubbles hit the surface, it creates a mirror effect allowing for some creative photos! The mainline continues through a series of big, stunning rooms, before the line begins to go deeper. As the cave slopes down it changes completely, looking like a salt water tunnel, white limestone walls and very few speleothems. The deeper you go, the smaller the cave becomes before finally pinching off at a depth of thirty metres. Strangely, this is all still fresh water, where we would expect to find a salt water layer. Perhaps it is due to distance from the coast, or a hydrological feature of the lagoons of Muyil which effect the hydrology here.
The Side Tunnels
The other distinction is the side passages. These are often much lower, pinching down to bedding planes that cannot (or should not) be passed in doubles. A number of the side tunnels loop back onto the mainline forming mini circuits. The first of these is highly decorated with whitish stalactites and loops back onto the main line in a forest of columns. The next side loop is one of my favourites with a tight restriction to pass through as you advance. It is also a really fun line to dive with the diver having to really think about how they move through the cave environment. The top circuit begins just as the mainline starts to drop down and go deeper. This one is less travelled and more silty, so careful finning techniques are required! The last side passage worth mentioning is the way to Caterpillar.
THE CATERPILLAR TRAVERSE — Since the way was opened when a stalagmite in the middle of the restriction was broken, many divers have made this traverse. Unfortunately, the greater traffic, or divers using the Xulo entrance to dive to other sections of Caterpillar have resulted in some damage to many of the more fragile restrictions. This has been pretty sad to see how the cave has deteriorated in the ten years since I first dove there. Given the depths, making the traverse should be doable with just the sidemount tanks. Should divers want a bit more gas, diving a stage and dropping it at the jump to Caterpillar makes sense. Much of the way to Caterpillar is quite low, and the many restrictions lend themselves to be dove with just sidemount tanks. Rather than make the traverse itself, some of my favourite diving is done off the jumps along here.
The deeper section at Cenote Xulo
One of the restrictions on a side tunnel.
Heavy decorations on the mainline.
Recent Exploration
In Muyil, or rather under the ground, are three big cave systems – Caterpillar (110,00 feet), Nohoch Pek (83,500 feet) and Doggi (59,000 feet). When, and it is just a matter of time, these three cave systems are connected they will be around 250,000 feet or 77 kilometers in length and the fourth largest cave system in the state of Quintana Roo! The connections have been worked on by a number of different explorers from the Quiet Diver Team and Dominican Republic Speleological Society. In recent years I have been doing lots of exploring with Phillip Lehman and the team. In Xulo, when scouting for any leads that would have broken out and gone in the direction of Doggi I found a few places where exploration was possible. In the ‘Old Skool’ section I initially found nearly two thousand feet of new cave, which we then extended out further. While this ultimately didn’t go towards Doggi, it did add another three thousand feet to the overall length of Sistema Caterpillar.
Cenote Xulo is a stunning cave and well worth adding to any Mexican cave diving itinerary. The facilities are great (for Muyil) and the access to the water is easy. The cave itself is super beautiful with so many interesting features. The cave offers a few different routes that can be dived over a few days. Remember the importance of cave conservation, I recommend only diving here in sidemount configuration, and ensure that your skills (and configuration) match the dive that you want to do.
NOTE — While you could dive the mainline in doubles, and I have heard of people squeezing into the side passages, from a cave conservation point this is not a great practice. Similarly diving multi stage in Xulo, while possible, has increased the impact of divers and the damage done to the cave, mostly this is divers traversing to Caterpillar. Better to dive that section of the cave directly from Cenote Caterpillar. Remember, we are privileged to visit these places, and any damage to the cave is permanent. Make sure your skills and configuration match the dive you want to do.
The ceilings are insanely decorated!
Special thanks to the photographers for sharing their work and bringing the beauty of the caves to others who can’t visit these places: Alvaro Herrero, Phillip Lehman, and Alfred Minnaar.