Jellyfish Lake Liveaboard Diving

Liveaboard Diving in Jellyfish Lake

What to expect on a Jellyfish Lake liveaboard

Liveaboards to Jellyfish Lake (known as Ongeim'l Tketail in Palauan) will give you the chance to swim and snorkel with millions of Golden Jellyfish (Mastigias sp.). This lake in Micronesia was formed back in the ice age which cut the lake off from the ocean on the island of Eil Malk or also known as Mecherchor island located in the Rock Islands in the southern lagoon. The lake is one of 70 isolated lakes in this area. The lake is about 2m (6ft) to 6m (18ft) deep, and you should avoid going down to a depth of 15m (45ft) to 20m (60ft) as there is a Hydrogen Sulphide layer around that level. With a lack of current or waves, it is an easy and calm experience on your Jellyfish Lake liveaboard.

What You Can see

Obviously, the first thought with jellyfish is that they sting, but that is what makes this site unique. Due to the lake being isolated, there is no fear of predators for these jellyfish, which is also why there are such a high number of them, but this also means that their stingers no longer sting as there is no threat to them at all. The jellyfish spend their peaceful days following the sun, as the sun attracts the algae on which they feed. Most Jellyfish Lake liveaboards arrive at the lake on a dock situated on the northwest corner, which will give you a good view of this.

This is indeed only a snorkeling and swimming site; no SCUBA is allowed here because it would disrupt the natural ecosystem, and so everyone is welcome to come here. This is because the bubbles of SCUBA divers could get trapped under the head of the jellyfish, push them up to the surface and then the bubbles would go through their membrane and create an injury, something we very much want to avoid. Apart from the swimming in the lake, this island provides you with a beautiful, peaceful, and remote destination in which you can swim, hike, and enjoy being away from the crowds whilst on your Jellyfish Lake cruise.

Getting To Jellyfish Lake

To get to this site, or to get to any Micronesia liveaboards which will be visiting this area, then you will need to make your way to Koror, which is the largest city in Palau. The airport is located on the island of Babeldaob which is connected by a bridge to Koror. The airport is called The Roman Tmetuchl International Airport. There are only five destinations that have outgoing flights to Palau, so you would have to fly to one of these first; Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Guam. Once in Palau, everything is organized mostly from Koror, most dive shops are located there and any liveaboards will depart from the Malakal Harbour in Koror. You will then be taken to the island of Eil Mak, which is 28km (18mi) from Koror, so about 30min-40min by boat, once there you will take a hike up a steep slope for about 400m (1/4mi) and then you will reach the lake for a nice swim and a unique experience.