Riviera Maya (Quintana Roo) · about 9 km from Tulum
Xa'ay Ha (Chi Keen)
Closed to divers
Currently not diveable: there is no key at ProTec any more and the new owner has not (yet) given permission.
- Max depth21 m (69 ft)
- CertificationFull cave
- SpecialExperienced divers
Diving and fills
Dive here with
Fills nearby
- Third Dimension DivingEAN32, HP O₂, deco gases and any trimix (booster); Sofnolime 797 and Intersorb; prefilled trimix bailout for rent
- ProTec TulumAir, EAN32, O₂ up to 200 bar, trimix on request (booster); Sofnolime 797 always in stock
- Ko’ox Diving (Tulum)Air, nitrox, O₂ and helium mixes (He about US$2/cf)
Now at Xa'ay Ha (Chi Keen)
What it looks like
Silent Descent into Cenote Xa’ay Ha (aka Chee Kin) - Mexico Cave diving Cenote Xa Ay Ha - Mexico dezembro de 2020 Rebreather cave dive at Cenote XA'AY HA'' Cave Diving In Chi-keen (Xa Ay Ha) Post on FacebookVideo · divelikeaninja
Post on InstagramPost · @skandacophield
All 6 videos and posts
Videos and posts
From other divers, via YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. They only load when you click; after that, Google's or Meta's privacy rules apply.
Silent Descent into Cenote Xa’ay Ha (aka Chee Kin) - Mexico Cave diving Cenote Xa Ay Ha - Mexico dezembro de 2020 Rebreather cave dive at Cenote XA'AY HA'' Cave Diving In Chi-keen (Xa Ay Ha)
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divelikeaninja
- Instagram
@skandacophield
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Other people's footage, not advice: how someone else dives here says nothing about what suits your team. Dive within your training.
The dive
Xa'ay Ha (Maya, literally ‘forked water’), also Chi Keen, is a richly decorated two-level system. There is a cave map at the entrance (Xa'ay Ha fan club).
Profile and sections
Xa'ay Ha (Maya, literally ‘forked water’), also Chi Keen, is a richly decorated two-level system. There is a cave map at the entrance (Xa'ay Ha fan club).
The system was surveyed by a team with Mauro Bordignon and Patrick Widmann. About 5 km has been surveyed, and it is fed by three cenotes. According to the QRSS: Sistema Chi Keen, 5 km surveyed, down to -17.4 m (QRSS, Jan 2025).
- Depth and profile
- Upper level about -5 m, lower line about -12 m, max about -21 m
- Configuration
- T at the entrance: right the long route (backmount), left shorter with two restrictions (sidemount)
- DPV: Not DPV-suitable
- No scooters (ProTec, 2026); backmount or sidemount depending on the route
Who can dive where
- At least Full cave
- Configurations: Backmount / twinset / Sidemount / CCR / Small cylinders / no-mount (speleo sumps)
- Goes down to 21 m (trimix or deco may be needed)
- Experienced divers only
This is how the planner decides who in your team may dive this cave. Rules your own trip adds (organizer, a mail, the AI) show with your trip.
How to get there
About 4.5 km south-west of Tulum, just past the turn-offs to Dos Pisos and Monkey Dust. There is no key at ProTec any more: the cenote has a new owner, who has not (yet) made an arrangement with them. Diving only with the owner's permission; ask locally beforehand (e.g. at a dive centre in Tulum) whether and how that is possible now, and don't just turn up. Parking, tables, toilets; wooden ladder and platform. Fee unknown.
Around Xa'ay Ha (Chi Keen)
Fills3 fill stations · nearest 8 km
Third Dimension Diving
Calle Chemuyil Mz 14 Lt 01, Mayapax, Tulum
EAN32, HP O₂, deco gases and any trimix (booster); Sofnolime 797 and Intersorb; prefilled trimix bailout for rent
Unknown — call
Rental of backmount, sidemount, CCR cylinders, Suex scooters and stages. In Tulum (Mayapax neighbourhood, west of the 307).
ProTec Tulum
Av. Satélite / Calle Tun-Kul, Tulum
Air, EAN32, O₂ up to 200 bar, trimix on request (booster); Sofnolime 797 always in stock
Daily 8–19
Rental of CCR, scooters, sidemount and double cylinders; CCR room for 14 units. ProTec Playa merged into Tulum in 2026. Keys for Xa'ay Ha (Chi Keen) and Doggi/Style (Muyil) are collected here.
Ko’ox Diving (Tulum)
Tulum
Air, nitrox, O₂ and helium mixes (He about US$2/cf)
Daily 7:30–21:00
Fills CCR, stage and double cylinders; cave gear for rent. Card payment accepted. The site also lists a Puerto Aventuras branch (Hwy 307 km 269.5, 7:30–21:00), but it is not on Google Maps — ask whether it exists and fills.
Other sites6 within 3 km
News
All (5)
Nearby
Articles about cave diving that name a place within 25 km of this site, but no cave by name. They're not necessarily about this site.
- A Diver Found a Skeleton at Least 8,000 Years Old Hidden 26 Feet Underwater in a Flooded Cave in Mexico ↗
- Cave-divers find trapped spearfisher alive after 15 days ↗
- Cave diving is fraught with danger, but the reward is sights like nothing else on Earth ↗
- INAH files legal complaint for diver damage to underwater archaeological site in Tulum cave ↗
- A Diver Found 8,000-Year-Old Human Remains Deep Inside an Underwater Cave ↗
Access and rules change: check what applies locally right before your trip. Source: GDELT Project and the news feeds of diving magazines. Search for more news ↗ Searched automatically, last on 11 Nov 2026.
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