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Chankanaab Park:
Cozumel's jewel
Chankanaab Park in Cozumel is located on the road south from town.
Its name is Mayan and can be broken down into Chaan, meaning little,
and Kanaab meaning sea - little sea. It was given this name because
of the lagoon situated in the park connects with tunnels to the
ocean.
Chankanaab Park has a capacity for around 3,000 visitors a day.
During 1998, and estimated 261,400 visited the park. It was declared
a national park in 1984, being the first one in the area to start
offering ecological park facilities.
The park has different sections. The entrance palm house, the
lagoon, the botanical garden, the museum, the archeological area,
the beach and the reef.
At the entrance palm house, you can find the facilities such as
restrooms, the office of the director, a photograph center,
different souvenir stores, a fountain and a scale-sized park. Almost
every tour stops here to tell their visitors how they will visit the
park.
The archeological area is on the way to the beach. You enter through
a Mayan arch. In it you can find 70 sculptures and stelae of the
many different cultures of Mexico. At the entrance you will find a
benched area and a big map of the country.
Pictures of the sculptures are pinpointed on different parts of the
map. As you walk along admiring them, you will pass by a little
house built just like the Mayans used to build their homes.
There you will find Ofelia Canto and Magdaleno Ake; Magdaleno works
the land just as his ancestors once did and Ofelia makes tortillas,
the old way.
In the archeological area, you will also find a reproduction of a
waterfall and by the end of it you can find a beautiful area of
lilies growing in this pond of water set in the jungle.
The botanical garden is also one of the park's beautiful
attractions. There you can find many different plants from the
region. All the plants are identified and most of them are grown in
the park's own nursery.
These plants are very strong in order to resist the tropical
weather and the ocean breeze. The total area of the botanical garden
measures around 700 square meters an ideal place for breathing in
some tranquility.
The park's museum is located in the southern part of Chankanaab; it
is small and everything is well explained. It consists of a display
of the shell, conches and reefs of the area as well as another part
dedicated to the caverns of the Chankanaab.
The park has some long under water caverns that have been explored
little by little. Due to the risks involved in cave diving, they are
closed to the public; only a group of experts that come once a year
are allowed to explore them. The museum features a map done by them
depicting what they have observed.
The beach is around 2 kilometers long. It's more of a sandy space to
tan and relax, you can't really jump waves; remember that this park
is geared more towards snorkeling. For that reason there are only
two step entrances to the water.
At the beach area, you can find lounge chairs, umbrellas, two big
palm houses that are restaurants and four smaller palm houses are
used as dive shops. At the beach, the park offers facilities such as
bathrooms, lockers, showers and towels for rent.
The Chankanaab reef is a protected area, known as a great place to
snorkel because of its variety of fish. Schools of fish like
sergeant majors are easy to find and swim with.
Barracudas and a large amount of different coral can also be seen
while just snorkeling. The reef is only around six meters deep, that
is why some beginners scuba divers also enjoy this reef.
The area of the reef is all roped off by bouys in order to protect
it and the visitors from vessels. As an added attraction, you can
find some famous sculptures set under water. At only a depth of two
meters, there is a metal statue of a virgin, as well as a stone
sculpture of a Chacmol Mayan god.
A little deeper, four meters, you can find a three-meter tall Christ
figure. This last sculpture is mostly visited by scuba divers who go
down to take pictures of it. If you want to take a picture with any
of these sculptures, you can rent an underwater camera at a dive
shop in the park, you can bring your own, or you can look for the
park photographer.
Only seven meters from shore, you can find a floating platform
specifically set up for tired snorkelers that need a little rest
before heading back to shore. One of the most beautiful things about
this reef is that it always offers its visitors crystal-clear water
with 100% visibility.
The lagoon of Chankanaab is a unique formation in Cozumel's
calcareous limestone base shaped by the erosive forces of the
island's fresh waters and the ocean. A world-renowned ecosystem is
maintained in Chankanaab's waters.
Its marine environment supports coral formations and allows for the
development of a number of multicolored fish and shellfish. The life
of this sea garden depends on the exchange of seawater through two
subterranean corridors. The lagoon measures some 74 by 46 meters and
varies from 1 to 3.5 meters in depth.
Entering the lagoon is not permitted, but from a little lookout area
you can take amazing pictures. The lagoon faces the area of the
beach; from the top of the lagoon you can see how the different fish
swing from one side to the other.
One of the newest attractions at Chankanaab is the dolphinary, where
you can you can swim with the dolphins and pet them; this is located
to the north.
Chankanaab Park is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (At six the entrance
is closed, but you can stay in the park until 7 p.m.) |
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