Derawan Jellyfish Point

Berau · East Kalimantan · Indonesia

Derawan Jellyfish Point sits on the eastern edge of Derawan Island in the Kalimantan archipelago, a site where gentle reef diving meets one of nature's most ethereal phenomena. The reef itself slopes gradually from 3 metres to a sandy bottom at 20 metres, but the real draw is what floats above it: clouds of stingless jellyfish that pulse through the shallows in mesmerising golden formations, creating an underwater experience unlike anything else in the Derawan group. The jellyfish aggregations at this point differ from the famous landlocked jellyfish lake on nearby Kakaban Island. Here, the organisms drift freely in open water above a healthy coral reef, their translucent bells catching the light as they pulse upward toward the surface in the afternoon hours. Swimming through these living clouds feels like entering a dream sequence, hundreds of golden orbs drifting past at arm's length, completely harmless after millennia of evolution without predators. Beneath the jellyfish spectacle, the reef itself is in excellent condition. Staghorn coral thickets provide shelter for schools of damselfish and juvenile sweetlips, while massive table corals create shaded overhangs where blue-spotted stingrays rest on the sand. The coral diversity is impressive for such a shallow site, with over 50 hard coral species documented in the upper 10 metres alone. Green sea turtles are the site's permanent residents. Derawan Island supports one of Indonesia's most important turtle nesting populations, and the waters around Jellyfish Point serve as their daytime feeding grounds. On any given dive, encounters with five to ten turtles are typical, the animals placidly cropping seagrass while ignoring divers entirely. At night, nesting females haul themselves onto nearby beaches, a spectacle visible from the island's simple accommodation. The channel between Derawan and Sangalaki Island funnels plankton-rich water past the point, and manta rays exploit this food source during dawn hours. Early morning dives regularly encounter reef mantas feeding in the current, their wingspans reaching three to four metres as they loop through the plankton concentrations. Derawan Jellyfish Point proves that world-class diving need not involve deep walls or extreme currents. At a maximum depth of 20 metres with mild conditions, this is a site accessible to newly certified divers that delivers experiences seasoned divers travel thousands of kilometres to find.