Things to Do in Chandelier Cave

Dive or snorkel the five chambers

You descend through a wide mouth into the first watery room. Flashlight beams pick out stalactites the length of your arm. Schools of glassy cardinalfish part around you as you fin toward the second chamber. Surface here in warm, humid air that smells of minerals and salt. The third and fourth rooms turn darker, quieter. Rock closes in until you reach the final chamber. A narrow shaft of sunlight sometimes punches through from above, illuminating the water like liquid jade.

Surface photography in the air pockets

Between dives you pop into the cave's ceiling chambers. Your torch catches quartz inclusions that sparkle like tiny chandeliers. The air feels thick and metallic on your tongue. Every drip echoes like a percussion instrument. Steady your camera on the limestone lip while your buddy lights the stalactites from below. The result looks like a grotto from a fantasy novel.

Combine with Jellyfish Lake snorkel

Most boats pair Chandelier Cave with nearby Ongeim'l Tketau, the jellyfish lake. Millions of golden mastigias pulse around you in warm, green water. After the cave's cool silence, the lake feels like swimming in champagne. Every stroke releases bubbles. Jellyfish bump softly against your arms like living silk scarves.

Kayak in from the mangroves

Paddle kayaks through a tunnel of arching mangrove roots that smell of iodine and wet earth. Stash the boats on a tiny sand spit before the cave entrance. The approach is silent except for paddle slap and the occasional hornbill overhead. From water level the cave mouth yawns like a black eye socket. Roll off the kayak straight into the first chamber without engine drone.

Night dive the outer reef

After the cave, boats sometimes drop onto the adjacent reef wall once the sun sets. Descend along a cliff where flashlight beams pick out crimson soft corals and sleeping parrotfish cocooned in mucus bubbles. The water here is cooler, clearer, and carries a faint taste of plankton. Lobsters parade across the sand like armored knights. Lionfish hover, mouths agape, feeding in the beam.

Koror waterfront puts you walking distance to dive shops and the dock where Chandelier Cave boats load.

Malakal Island offers over-water bungalows five minutes closer to the cave. But fewer restaurants.

Ngerkebesang gives you a quiet residential strip with family-run guesthouses and a local supermarket.

Peleliu suits the hardcore. Expect basic rooms near WWII sites, a 45-minute boat ride. But you beat the crowds.

Airai works as a budget choice near the airport. It's handy for early flights, less handy for daily cave trips.

Ngermid - hillside lodges with sunset decks, you'll need a taxi to reach boats