The town of Kantunil on Thursday celebrated the reopening of its Tu’ul cenote.
Tu’ul cenote, which has long been enjoyed mainly by area residents, was recently closed for much-needed cleaning and repairs
With the new improvements, locals are hoping that visitors from surrounding communities and abroad begin to visit their town and cenote in larger numbers.
The cenote, whose Yucatec-Mayan name means “rabbit,” is said to be extremely important to the community’s identity as it draws a direct link to its past.
The grand reopening was headed by the community local culture director, José Iván Borges, who is also a historian.
Earlier: An obscure cenote is suddenly the talk of Tixkokob
Kantunil is 65 kilometers from Mérida, roughly halfway to Chichén Itzá, and can be easily reached on the Mérida-Cancún highway.
Although no archaeological sites open to the public exist in the municipality, those with a keen eye will notice conspicuous mounds dotting its otherwise entirely flat landscape.
Yucatán’s cenotes attract large amounts of visitors every year for swimming, diving, and even the occasional underwater wedding.
But with all of this activity also come problems such as pollution and the looting of ancient artifacts.
There is no precise count of exactly how many cenotes exist in the state of Yucatán, but even the most conservative estimates place the number somewhere around 7,000.
Cenotes can even be found well within Mérida’s city limits on the grounds of schools, private homes, and even in the parking lot of the local Costco.
