{"id":70282,"date":"2019-08-05T14:44:04","date_gmt":"2019-08-05T13:44:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flashpacknew.wpengine.com\/?p=70282"},"modified":"2023-06-30T11:17:56","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T10:17:56","slug":"dine-underground-chuckum-ha-cenote-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/solo\/travel\/dine-underground-chuckum-ha-cenote-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Now you can dine underground in an off-radar Mexican cenote"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cocktails and a five-star picnic await at one of Mexico’s more undiscovered cenotes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cenotes, we can probably all agree, are one of life’s finer delights.<\/p>\n

These underground reservoirs \u2013 formed when the rim of a limestone cavern falls away to reveal a natural pool of groundwater within \u2013 are dotted across Mexico’s Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula.<\/p>\n

Some, like Ik Kil Cenote near Chich\u00e9n Itz\u00e1 (below), are shrouded in a picturesque mass of hanging vines. Others, like Black Cenote on Laguna Bacalar, feature rope swings for you to catapult your way into the cave, Tarzan<\/em>-style.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BznejKxJwb5\/<\/p>\n

At Sac Actun, the world\u2019s largest underwater cave system, you can hop between a series of secluded grottoes; a wonderland of strange rock formations and tucked-away pools.<\/p>\n

Read more: Delicious Foodie Adventures<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

For those who hanker for adventure, cenotes are a passport to joy. You can spend hours marvelling at stalactites, finding hidden nooks or wallowing in cool, emerald waters as the sunlight splices through the cave’s roof above you.<\/p>\n

Now one hotel is taking the experience a step further by offering an underground cenote banquet. At Grand Velas Riviera Maya<\/a>, a luxury hotel about an hour from Tulum on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, guests are able to dine out in style at the gem that is Chukum-Ha.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BxvhVM6lQu6\/<\/p>\n

An undiscovered playground, Chukum-Ha only opened to the public earlier this year following an extensive project<\/a> to secure the highly vaulted cenote, and make it suitable for visitors.<\/p>\n

The 130-foot cave was once used as a well by local Mayan communities, but it’s now been made over with zip lines, diving platforms and a rope swing, in a transformation led by Aventuras Mayas<\/a> project director Ricardo D\u00edaz.<\/p>\n

“Chukum-Ha is one of the biggest [cenotes] in the area, and its high ceiling and vertical perimeter are highly decorated with astonishing rock formations,” D\u00edaz tells Forbes<\/em>. “Additionally, the cenote has a constant flow of water, making its waters crystal clear with a beautiful turquoise color.”<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/B0LdL8ogw02\/<\/p>\n

Guests can even rappel their way down from the cenote’s opening to the water below, where you can admire sunlight stream through three natural openings in the cave ceiling.<\/p>\n

As Lonely Planet<\/em><\/a> reports, this experience then turns up a notch with Grand Velas’ gourmet dining experience. Visitors get a private tour of the cave first, before gathering for a subterranean feast of artisan cheeses, charcuterie, handmade truffles and more.<\/p>\n

Read more: The brilliant benefits of wild swimming and hot spring bathing<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This is accompanied by a introduction to ancestral drinks such as sotol \u2013 the grittier cousin of mezcal or tequila \u2013 with a snapshot of their history and modern-day cocktail equivalents.<\/p>\n

“The experience is unique because our guests have the ability to have a gourmet meal and ancestral drink tasting in one of the destination\u2019s relatively undiscovered cenotes,” a hotel rep tells the publication.<\/p>\n

Of course, you can take some time to dive, zipline and rappel through the cave, too; as well as stretching out in the cool, sun-flecked waters. It’s a tough life…<\/p>\n

Remember, you can visit a full fleet of beautiful cenotes \u2013 and hop between emerald lagoons \u2013 on Flash Pack’s wild swimming adventure<\/a> in the Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula. The gourmet dining experience at Chukum-Ha isn’t included but you could always loop in a visit before or after, should you wish.<\/p>\n

Images: Luz Mendoza<\/a> on Unsplash and Instagram<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cocktails and a five-star picnic await at one of Mexico’s more undiscovered cenotes Cenotes, we…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9029],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flashpack.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}