Jellyfish Lake

Marine lake where millions of stingless jellyfish migrate across the water each day.

Jellyfish Lake, on the uninhabited island of Eil Malk in the southern Rock Islands, is one of those places that lives up to the hype. Snorkelling among millions of palm-sized golden jellyfish that drift around you without stinging is genuinely strange and beautiful — there is nothing quite like it elsewhere in the world.

Access is by boat from Koror as part of an organised Rock Islands tour, and the lake is closed periodically when populations dip. Scuba diving is forbidden — the deeper layers of the lake are anoxic and full of hydrogen sulphide that can be absorbed through the skin — so it is snorkel only. Bring a permit, included in the standard Rock Islands fee, and respect the no-sunscreen rule that helps protect the jellies.

things to do sight nature wildlife
A story
The golden jellyfish of Jellyfish Lake have evolved in isolation for thousands of years and have lost most of their stinging ability — there is nothing in the lake to sting. Each morning the entire population, sometimes more than ten million animals, migrates from west to east across the lake and back again, tracking the sun to feed the algae living in their tissues. In 2016 a drought and El Niño event collapsed the population to almost zero, but it has since recovered.

Other places in Things to Do