Flight
Fly to Berau
Domestic flight (booked by you) to Kalimarau Airport (BEJ), the meeting point for our trips.
Destinations · Kakaban
Kakaban Island and its stingless jellyfish lake
A raised coral atoll with a landlocked, brackish lake sealed inside its rim: you snorkel among jellyfish too weak to sting, an hour by speedboat from Derawan.
- Raised coral island
- ~774 ha
- Landlocked brackish lake
- ~5 km²
- Jellyfish species recorded
- 4
- Best season
- Apr – Nov
The island
A raised atoll with an ancient lake inside
Kakaban is not a beach island. It is a ring of uplifted coral rock in the Derawan Archipelago, Berau Regency, East Kalimantan.
Uplift over roughly two million years lifted an old atoll lagoon clear of the sea and sealed its water inside the rim. The lake is brackish, fed by rain and seepage through porous coral, and cut off long enough for its species to evolve apart from the reef outside.
There is no village, no road and no permanent population. A visit happens between the boat mooring, a short boardwalk over the rim and the lake. The Derawan Islands have been on Indonesia's UNESCO World Heritage tentative list since 2005, and access to the lake is managed by local authorities.
- Island area: roughly 774 hectares of raised coral
- Lake area: roughly 5 km², landlocked and brackish
- About 1 hour by speedboat from Derawan Island
- About 30 minutes by speedboat from Maratua
- Signature experience: snorkelling with stingless jellyfish
The jellyfish lake
Four species, and none that meaningfully stings
With no significant predators in a sealed lake, the jellyfish sting weakened over generations. The stinging cells remain, but are too weak to penetrate human skin.
| Species | Common name | What you notice in the water |
|---|---|---|
| Mastigias papua | Golden or spotted jellyfish | The most numerous: pale gold bells drifting in loose clouds near the surface |
| Aurelia aurita | Moon jellyfish | Flat and translucent with four visible rings; slower and lower in the water |
| Cassiopea ornata | Upside-down jellyfish | Rests bell-down on the lake bed with tentacles up, easy to miss |
| Tripedalia cystophora | Small box jellyfish | Only a few millimetres across, usually near the mangrove edges |
The jellyfish gather in the top three to five metres, so this is a surface swim. Visibility is lower than on the reef: the lake is tannin-tinged and mangrove-fringed, and light is best in the middle of the day.
Getting there
Every visit is a day trip by speedboat
Kakaban has no airstrip and no scheduled public boat. Our private and open trips meet at Kalimarau Airport (BEJ) in Berau, and the chain from there is fixed.
- Kalimarau (BEJ)
- Tanjung Batu port · 2.5 – 3 h
- Derawan · ~40 min
On the island
The boardwalk, the lake and the outer reef
The visit has distinct parts, and most travellers only plan for one of them.
What you do on Kakaban
The boardwalk
A few minutes over the raised coral rim to a lake platform. The rock is sharp and often wet: reef shoes or grippy sandals help.
The lake
Enter gently from the platform. The jellyfish follow the light, so a guide sends you to the sunny side. An hour is plenty; snorkelling only.
The outer reef
The seaward side is a steep wall with its own dive sites, including a barracuda schooling point, mostly dived at 5 to 30 m.
Same day
Laguna Kehe Daing
Our day-two island route stops at Laguna Kehe Daing on Kakaban as well as the jellyfish lake, on the same boat day as Maratua and Sangalaki.
Lake rules
The rules exist because the lake is fragile
The jellyfish are sensitive to physical damage and chemicals, and a sealed lake cannot flush itself out. These rules change what you pack.
Before and during the swim
- Rinse off sunscreen, repellent and oils before entering
- Enter from the platform, feet first and gently
- Swim with your arms, slowly
- Leave the jellyfish in the water
- Dive the outer reef, not the lake
Not allowed in the lake
- Fins
- Sunscreen, insect repellent or oils
- Jumping or diving in
- Lifting jellyfish out of the water
- Scuba diving
When to go
April to November, in the middle of the day
The best season is April to November, when the Sulawesi Sea is calmest; December to March is the wetter period, and trips still run. That matters here: reaching Kakaban means an open-water crossing, and a rough sea can remove the stop from the day. The jellyfish are present year-round, with no migration to wait for.
Aim for the lake between roughly 10:00 and 14:00, when the sun lights the water column. Two to three hours on Kakaban is enough, with about an hour in the lake.
Best time to visit- Jan Rough Reduced
- Feb Rough Reduced
- Mar Variable Mixed
- Apr Calm 20 m+
- May Calm 20 m+
- Jun Calm 20 m+
- Jul Calm 20 m+
- Aug Calm 20 m+
- Sep Calm 20 m+
- Oct Calm 20 m+
- Nov Variable 20 m+
- Dec Rough Reduced
In season Crossings weather-dependent Sea state · visibility
Trip costs
What a Derawan trip including Kakaban costs
Kakaban is on day two of both the open trip and the private trip. Published Indonesia Juara rates; the entrance fee is included.
Flights to Berau (BEJ), fins, tips and personal expenses are not included. Rates as published on indonesiajuara.asia.
Answers
Kakaban questions
In the Derawan Archipelago, Berau Regency, East Kalimantan: about one hour by speedboat from Derawan Island and roughly 30 minutes from Maratua. It is a raised atoll of around 774 hectares with a landlocked brackish lake of roughly 5 km² at its centre.
Keep exploring
More in Destinations
Plan Kakaban
Swim the jellyfish lake on your Derawan trip
Tell us your dates and group size and we will confirm the route that includes Kakaban.