Swimming with the jellyfish was actually forbidden in recent years, as the jellyfish population was in decline. However, as of 2019, the jellyfish numbers are on the rise and swimming with them has been reopened.
People Also Ask
As of 2022, Jellyfish Lake in Palau is open to the public. Is it safe to swim with jellyfish? It is very safe as the jellyfish don't actually sting. You just can't dive deep here (below 15 meters) as there is hydrogen sulfide at the bottom of the lake, which is harmful.
Though swimming is permitted, scuba diving is highly prohibited as the bottom layer of the lake hosts a poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas that even the lake's jellyfish don't swim near.
All visitors are required to purchase a 10-day Rock Island Permit for 100 USD (50 USD if you access the Rock Islands but not the Jellyfish Lake). Take also into consideration that if you are planning to book a day tour to the Jellyfish Lake expect to pay between 100-250 USD (excluding permit costs).
There are approximately 700,000 jellyfish in this lake and none of them sting! You can only snorkel here because deep in the lake there is poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas that would not be safe if diving.
Besides the fact that exhaust bubbles could harm the jellyfish, the deeper anoxic layer of the lake contains hydrogen sulfide, which is poisonous to humans.
Ask your scuba operator where you'll be diving, and make sure you have the right certification and level of skill for the dive. There are saltwater crocodiles in parts of Palau, and no warning signs to indicate their presence.
Located on an uninhabited rock island off the coast of Koror in Palau, Jellyfish Lake is one of 70 saltwater lakes on this South Pacific archipelago that were once connected to the ocean, but are now cut off.
However, scuba diving in the lake is forbidden for two reasons: First, to protect the jellyfish, as the bubbles are likely to get caught under the bells. Second, about 15m (16.4 yds.) below the surface, there are high concentrations of lethal hydrogen sulphide, which can be absorbed through the skin.
Contrary to tourist myth, the jellyfish are not “non-stinging”; rather, the lack of natural predators in this marine lake (inside an island, inside an ocean) has led them to evolve away from having very strong stinging cells, so that most of us can glide through the water, bumping into the floating, dancing clear blobs ...