Jellyfish Lake — Ongeim'l Tketau Palau
Jellyfish Lake (Ongeim'l Tketau) on Mecherchar Island in Palau — a marine lake isolated from the ocean 12,000 years ago, whose 10–15 million golden jellyfish (Mastigias papua etpisoni) have lost their stinging capability through evolutionary isolation and feed entirely on photosynthetic zooxanthellae — allows snorkelling through a living cloud of pulsing, harmless jellyfish so dense that visibility is reduced to 50 centimetres in peak aggregations. The jellyfish's daily migration — following the sun's angle across the lake to maintain their symbiotic algae in maximum light — creates a predictable daily movement that snorkellers can intercept, and the experience of floating in the warm lake surrounded by thousands of pulsing golden forms (each 10–25 centimetres) is one of the Pacific's most celebrated underwater encounters. The lake's temporary closure in 2016–2017 due to El Niño bleaching restored the jellyfish population's health, and current numbers are the highest since records began.
About this spectacle
Floating in Jellyfish Lake is unlike any snorkelling experience on Earth. As you enter the warm, brackish water of this isolated marine lake on Mecherchar Island, golden jellyfish — each between 10 and 25 centimetres across — surround you in every direction. At peak aggregations, visibility drops to just 50 centimetres, and the sensation of being enveloped by thousands of softly pulsing, harmless forms is simultaneously surreal and calming. The jellyfish have lost their sting through millennia of evolutionary isolation, so there is no need to avoid contact. In morning hours, the entire population migrates across the lake following the sun's angle, creating a living, flowing river of golden bodies. The lake surface shimmers with reflected light filtering through the algae-rich water, while below, the column of jellyfish stretches deep into the green-tinted depths. The lake's 2016–2017 closure for recovery means today's population is at record highs, making this a rare moment of ecological restoration made visible.
When to go
Jan — Dec
Getting there
Nearest airport: ROR. Nearest city: Koror.
Booking options
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