Jellyfish Lake

You have seen it on the Discovery Channel a hundred times and always thought how cool it would be to actually see that.  If you make a trip to Palau only to see Jellyfish Lake you will be disappointed but if you happen to already be in Palau don’t miss it!  There are actually more than 80 saltwater lakes in the islands of Palau, each with its own biodiversity.  A few even have similar type jellyfish but there is only one that is accessible to tourists.  South of Malakal Harbor only accessible by a 30 minute boat ride is Eli Malk Island; this is where Jellyfish Lake is located.  Your boat docks at a pier and the park rangers check your entrance pass.  You are directed not to wear any sunscreen, perfume or lotions of any type.   You can wear just a swimsuit but the water is pretty chilly. 

Many of our group wore our wet suits and booties.  With mask, snorkel and camera in hand we left everything else on the boat and started the hike to the lake.  The trail was made of rock and concrete stairs that were pretty steep but were shaded by the tropical trees.  It was about a 10 minute hike up a hill to flat terrain across the top and then a 5 minute hike down into the valley where the lake is located.  There is a dock at the lake guarded by another park ranger and it looks like nothing special; just some tropical cold freshwater lake.  Our guild instructed us to swim out and around the corner along a mangrove shoreline with cardinal fish in the roots.  He told us when we start to see jellyfish keep swimming, when we see 10 or 15 jellyfish, keep swimming, when we see 30-40, keep swimming, when we see 100 keep swimming and when we are completely surrounded by 100’s of jellyfish stop and look around.  He warned us to move slowly and try not to kick with our fins while around the jellyfish so we don’t harm them.  

When I arrived at the main gathering of jellyfish I just floated….so quiet…so surreal.  The jellyfish just pulsed as they moved up down and around.  They were sized from as small as the tip of my pinky finger pulsing very fast, like the heartbeat of a humming bird, all the way to the size of my outstretched hand pulsing much slower.  It was the most Zen moment of my whole life, so relaxed, so peaceful!  I was thinking that everyone needs a jellyfish lake in their backyard to float in after a stressful day.  I just kept taking photos and video even though they all look alike, I could not stop because I wanted to remember every single moment.  At one point a couple of other swimmers came close and they were talking to each other above water and grunting and pointing below water.  Their noise ruined the whole experience so I moved away from their chatter.  After what seemed too short a time we swam back to the dock and did the hike in reverse.   The next time you see Jellyfish Lake on the Discovery Channel mute the sound, move closer to the TV and just silently watch the movement of the jellyfish – it won’t be the same but you will get the idea.   This was totally worth the extra cost!!

Click Here for Jellyfish Lake Video

Travel On!