Swim among sting-less jellyfish in a landlocked lake on an uninhabited island.
Kakaban is a raised coral atoll with a lake sealed inside it, roughly five hectares of brackish water reaching about 17 metres at its deepest, cut off from the sea long enough that its jellyfish stopped needing to sting. Four species live in it: moon jellyfish up to about 30 centimetres, spotted jellyfish of similar size and the most numerous, tiny box jellyfish with bodies under a centimetre, and upside-down jellyfish that sit on the sandy bottom with their bells beneath them. Only a handful of lakes anywhere on earth work like this.
You need to read the current situation carefully before planning around it. The lake was closed around December 2023 after the jellyfish population collapsed, widely attributed to visitor pressure. It has since reopened, but local reporting at the time of reopening was explicit that swimming was prohibited in order to protect the jellyfish, and we have found nothing since that clearly reverses that. Assume you will be looking rather than floating, and confirm with your operator before you book anything around it.
The management position is genuinely unresolved. As of late May 2026 the Berau tourism office was still waiting on the provincial government over a proposed public service agency to run the island, day-to-day management sat with the local community and the village head of Payung-Payung, and because Kakaban falls inside a national marine conservation area under a 2016 fisheries ministry decree, the regency was not permitted to collect tourism fees. Officials were on record worrying that this drift threatens the habitat.
During the closure, substantial money went into the island: a new jetty, toilets, and a deliberately lengthened forest trail designed so that visitors spread out rather than all crowding the lake at once.
Cara ke sana
Kakaban is uninhabited and is reached by boat from Derawan or Maratua, almost always as part of an island-hopping day trip arranged through a homestay or dive operator, taking roughly 45 minutes to over an hour each way depending on the base and the sea. Most itineraries pair it with Sangalaki or Maratua in a single loop, so you arrive, walk to the lake, and leave the same day. From the boat landing it is a five to ten minute walk up steps and along a forest boardwalk to the water, where a jetty with steps and a low platform lets people in and out without jumping. Flip-flops or something with grip are worth having for the wooden steps, which get slippery.
Masa terbaik
April to October is the calmer window and makes the crossing far more pleasant, since these are open-water boat trips in a small vessel. Beyond the season, the real question is not weather but access. Because management is unsettled and rules around entry and swimming have changed more than once since 2023, the single most useful thing you can do is have your operator confirm the current status in the days before you travel rather than relying on anything published in advance, including this page.
Baik untuk diketahui
Follow the rules, which exist because this lake nearly lost its jellyfish. No fins, which stir up sand and can cut soft bodies. No ordinary sunscreen, as the chemicals accumulate in enclosed water with no outflow; wear a rash guard or a wetsuit instead. No jumping or diving in. No touching the jellyfish at any point. Carry cash in small notes. Fee collection here has been informal and contested, and published figures for what you will be asked to pay disagree wildly, so budget something and do not expect a printed tariff or a card machine. Bring your own water: the island is uninhabited and there are no shops of any kind.
Probably not, and you should not plan around it. The lake closed around December 2023 after the jellyfish population collapsed, and when the island reopened, local reporting stated that swimming was prohibited to protect the jellyfish. We have found nothing clearly reversing that, so confirm the current rule with your operator before booking.
There is no reliable public confirmation that they have. Claims of recovery circulate, but the most recent government-linked reporting we found, from May 2026, was still framed around risk to the habitat rather than recovery. Treat any confident claim either way with caution.
Sunscreen chemicals build up in an enclosed lake with no outflow, and fins stir sediment and can damage the soft-bodied jellyfish. These rules, along with a ban on jumping in and on touching the animals, followed the population collapse and are taken seriously.
As of May 2026 this was unresolved. A provincial public service agency had been proposed but not established, day-to-day management rested with the local community and the village head of Payung-Payung, and because the island sits inside a national marine conservation area the Berau regency was not permitted to collect tourism fees.
Four stingless species: moon jellyfish reaching around 30 centimetres, spotted jellyfish up to about 20 centimetres and the most abundant, very small box jellyfish with bodies under a centimetre, and upside-down jellyfish that rest on the sandy bottom.
Five to ten minutes up steps and across a forest boardwalk. The trail was deliberately extended during the closure so visitors spread out rather than gathering at one point on the lake.
Tambahkannya ke dalam laluan merentasi Indonesia dan kami akan kira masa perjalanan dan kos antara setiap hentian.
Bina perjalanan anda
