Hoyo Azul Cenote

Hoyo Azul is a brilliant turquoise cenote hidden inside Scape Park at Cap Cana, cupped at the foot of a roughly 75-metre limestone cliff draped in rainforest. Fed by underground springs, its water glows an unreal blue thanks to a halocline of fresh and salt layers, and a short jungle trail leads you down to a wooden deck at the water's edge for a cool, life-jacketed swim. It's one of Punta Cana's signature half-day excursions and a postcard photographers chase year-round. The challenge is the contrast — that glowing pool against a towering green wall is hard to expose by yourself. Our photographers meet you at the water's edge to capture the blue glow, the cliff rising overhead and your swim, with the clearest, calmest water typically in the drier months from December through April.