How deep is Ik Kil? My husband can't swim well so he sticks to a few feet. How deep is Ik Kil? Is jumping off the rock into the cenote the only way to swim there?
Ik Kil is very deep (at least a hundred feet I would guess). There are stairs that take you down to it, you don't have to jump off the cliff. It is a surreal experience - should be on everyone's bucket list. We got there early and were the only people there for at least an hour. I stayed in the water so long I didn't realize my legs were going numb (the water is pretty cold but the experience is so mezmerising you won't care). The sunlight coming through the opening creates some spectacular "light shows" on the walls. I did not even know at the time that the Mayans think of cenotes as "conduits to the world of spirits" - and although I am not the type that usually believes in that sort of thing, I did feel some other presence in that cenote -and heard some odd noises, sort of like singing, that were hard to identify. Ik Kil is worth the trip whether you go to Chichen or not. On the IK Kil website it says that there are first and second class buses to IK Kil from Cancun- I don't know if they also take you to chichen but the two are so close, you could probably get a ride from Chichen to Ik Kil and spend all your time there. There are also many cenotes worth visiting between Cancun and Tulum - we went cenote hopping and visited many of those - but they did not come close to Ik Kil.
Cenote Cristal, 20 minutes south of Playa del Carmen. You have cave to swim in, rocks to jump off of, jungles to swim through, benches and tables and on $4usd entrance fee. I can send you some photos it you have myspace or photobucket.
