Ik Kil cenote: price, hours and visiting from Tulum

Ik Kil is a round, open cenote 3 km from Chichén Itzá, and about 157 km from Tulum. In October 2026 the operator charges MXN 240 for general entry, which includes a life vest, a locker and parking, and opens every day from 9:00 to 17:00 Yucatán time. It is the easiest swim to add to a Chichén Itzá day, because you can’t swim in the Sacred Cenote at the ruins.

The name means “place of the winds” in Maya, according to the operator. The cenote formed when the roof of an underground cavern collapsed, leaving a near-vertical shaft open to the sky. The water sits about 26 m below the ground, and you walk down a stairway cut into the rock to reach it.

Ik Kil prices and hours in 2026

Ticket	What it includes	Price
General access	Entry, life vest, locker, parking	MXN 240
Children (1.20 to 1.40 m)	Entry, life vest	MXN 150
Children under 1.20 m	Entry	Free
Buffet package	Entry, life vest, locker, parking, buffet, one drink	MXN 530
Children’s buffet	Sold at the ticket office only	MXN 280

Checked October 2026 on the operator’s site, cenoteikkil.com. Open daily 9:00 to 17:00, Yucatán time.

Anyone taller than 1.40 m pays the adult price. You can buy online and skip the ticket queue: show the code at the entrance and go straight to the changing area.

What Ik Kil is like

From the stairs you look straight down a near-vertical shaft to the pool. Most sources put the water at about 40 m deep; Wikipedia gives 48 m. That depth is why the life vest isn’t optional, and lifeguards watch the pool.

The operator says the Maya held Ik Kil sacred and worshipped Chaac, the rain god, there. That is the operator’s account; we found no archaeological report on it. The well-documented offerings site is the Sacred Cenote inside Chichén Itzá.

Ik Kil is a full visitor park, not a wild cenote. Around the pool you’ll find a buffet restaurant (El Jardín), an à la carte terrace (Jade Terraza), a craft shop and bungalows if you want to stay the night. Phones and cameras are allowed in marked areas; skip the flash.

Ik Kil with children

Ik Kil prices children by height, not age. Under 1.20 m they go free, and from 1.20 to 1.40 m they pay MXN 150. Every ticket includes a life vest, and the operator says lifeguards watch the water at all times.

The stairs down to the water are long, about 26 m of descent, so small children may need carrying on the way back up. Children who aren’t confident in deep water may be happier in a shallow open cenote such as Zacil-Ha, about 3 m deep and 15 minutes from Tulum.

If you want lunch on site, the children’s buffet ticket (MXN 280) is sold only at the ticket office, not online.

Tulum to Ik Kil

Ik Kil sits on the Mérida-Puerto Juárez highway at km 120, near Pisté, the town beside Chichén Itzá.

By car. About 157 km from Tulum through Valladolid. A routing engine gives 2 hours 16 minutes with no traffic; allow 2.5 hours. The operator’s own figure of 1.5 hours is optimistic for that distance. Remember Ik Kil is in Yucatán, one hour behind Tulum.

By train. The Tren Maya stops at Chichén Itzá station, and the operator says Ik Kil is a 5-minute taxi ride from there. From Tulum the line runs north through Cancún Aeropuerto first, so check the route and times on trenmaya.gob.mx.

By tour. The Chichén Itzá day trips from Tulum in our list swim at Cenote Chichikan or Xux-Ha near Valladolid instead. None stops at Ik Kil. If Ik Kil matters to you, drive or book a private driver.

Combining Ik Kil with Chichén Itzá

The two are 3.4 km apart, about five minutes by car. The order that works:

1. Reach Chichén Itzá at 8:00 local time, when it opens.
2. See the ruins for two to three hours.
3. Drive to Ik Kil, swim, and eat at the buffet.
4. Head east to Valladolid, 45 minutes away, or straight back to Tulum.

Want a second cenote on the way home? Cenote Suytun is about 8 km east of Valladolid, and its last entry is 16:00 local time. The Chichén Itzá from Tulum guide has fees, bus and train options and the full day plan.

Ik Kil compared with the cenotes near Tulum

Ik Kil is a deep open sinkhole you look down into. Most cenotes around Tulum are different: shallow, clear caverns and open pools where you snorkel over rock and roots, such as Gran Cenote and Dos Ojos. Both are within half an hour of Tulum town. See the Tulum cenotes homepage for the list and cenote swimming for rules and what to bring.

Before you go

• Bring a swimsuit, towel and sandals (the operator’s list).
• Skip sunscreen and lotion before you swim. Cenotes around Tulum ask for the same, so it is a safe habit here too.
• Pay attention to Yucatán time when you plan the drive back.
• For more swims near Chichén Itzá, see Cenote Suytun and the cenotes around Valladolid.