Cave system
Sistema Taj Mahal
QRSS list entry reported by M. Nebenhaus, 08/2017. The QRSS long-cave list gives -23.8 m; the QRSS deep-cave list gives -24.4 m for the same 2017 report.
A 9,954 m underwater cave (QRSS, 2017 figure) entered at Cenote Tajma Ha south of Puerto Aventuras, used for cavern tours and as a designated cave training site, known for light beams and a dense halocline.
Sistema Taj Mahal is best known through Cenote Tajma Ha, which operators place about 5 km south of Puerto Aventuras. The cavern zone runs from the main entrance beneath an air-filled bat chamber to a smaller cenote divers call the Sugar Bowl, and in sunny weather light enters through openings in the ceiling. Deeper areas cross a halocline, where the mixing of fresh and salt water produces a shimmering, mirror-like layer.
QRSS lists eight cenotes for the system and a surveyed length of 9,954 m, last reported in 2017. Its permanent lines include the Jumna River, Sagrado and Mangrovia lines, parts of which CREER lists as approved places for training drills.
In February 2024 CREER advised that cavern tours should not be run at Tajma Ha because excavation at nearby Cenote Esmeralda had left excess sediment in the cavern zone, while cave diving remained open.
Survey and exploration history
| 2017-08 | QRSS list entry updated to 9,954 m (M. Nebenhaus). [1] |
Entrances and dive sites
QRSS lists 8 cenotes. Cenote Tajma Ha is the operated dive entrance.
For orientation, not navigation. Hollow dots are approximate.
Every fact on this page, with its source (7)
| Fact | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| QRSS lists Sistema Taj Mahal at 9,954 m with 8 cenotes, reported by M. Nebenhaus in 08/2017.Newest figure found is from 2017. | May be out of date | [1] |
| QRSS gives a maximum depth of 23.8 m on its long-cave list and 24.4 m on its deep-cave list for Sistema Taj Mahal.Same 08/2017 report in both tables. | Sources conflict | [1] [2] |
| Pro Dive International places Cenote Tajma Ha about 5 km south of Puerto Aventuras and 26 km south of Playa del Carmen.Operator description. | Reported | [5] |
| Pro Dive International describes the Tajma Ha cavern tour as passing a wide room beneath an air-filled bat cave to a smaller cenote called the Sugar Bowl, with haloclines in deeper areas. | Reported | [5] |
| CREER noted on 2024-02-27 that the Tajma Ha cavern line was unsafe because of excess sediment after the excavation of Cenote Esmeralda, marking cavern tours as not recommended while cave diving stayed open.Status may have changed since; page viewed 2026-10-14. | Verified | [3] |
| CREER rates Tajma Ha as Level 2 (Intermediate) for guided cavern diving. | Verified | [3] |
| CREER's 2020 training-site rules list the Jumna River line, Sagrado line, Mangrovia line and cavern zone at Tajma Ha among approved locations for zero-visibility or lost-line drills. | Verified | [4] |
Verified: stated by an official or primary source we opened. Reported: from a secondary source only. Sources conflict: the note gives both versions. May be out of date: the newest source we found is old.
Written in our own words from the sources above. Report a correction