Light in the Underworld: Diving the Mexican Cenotes

Ten Best Photography Books of 2024, Smithsonian Magazine

An immersive journey into a natural wonder—the underwater caves and cenotes of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, a destination very few divers have ever reached.

Shining a light into the “Underworld” (Xibalba, as the Maya called this sacred place), these stunning images from cave diver and award-winning photographer Martin Broen transport us into a secret and fascinating world accessed from cenotes, water-filled gateways to an infinite labyrinth of tunnels that create the longest underwater cave systems on the planet.

Over multiple expeditions and utilizing groundbreaking diving and photographic techniques, Broen has captured more than 250 different cenotes, their caves, and the dramatic secrets that lie within them, bringing photographs from his explorations back to the surface. Paired with images of startling otherworldly beauty, Broen’s engaging text guides readers through the unique features of the Yucatán cenotes: from dramatic sinkhole entrances to decorated underwater caverns filled with rainbow colors; from ancient time capsules that document the fossil record to the critical environmental role that cenotes play today.

With contributions from Alex Mustard and Paul Nicklen based on their own diving experiences, this volume beckons divers, cavers and armchair explorers into a uniquely dangerous yet beautiful and essential underwater world.