Sohoton Cove & Jellyfish Sanctuary
📍 Bucas Grande, Surigao del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines
A hidden lagoon system on Bucas Grande Island, entered through a sea cave passable only at low tide, sheltering stingless jellyfish, karst-walled coves, and cliffs you can leap from into deep clear water.
What makes it marvelous
Sohoton is a drowned karst landscape: limestone islands riddled with caves and enclosed lagoons. The main entrance is a rock tunnel that boats can pass only at low tide, when the water level drops enough to slip beneath the cliff. Inside, sheltered brackish lagoons host swarms of golden jellyfish whose sting is too mild to harm swimmers — a phenomenon shared with only a few places on Earth.
Why visit
You duck through a sea cave into a maze of silent, cliff-ringed lagoons, swim among gently pulsing jellyfish, explore stalactite caves, and jump from limestone ledges into deep water. It is remote, wild, and far quieter than the country's headline destinations.
What to know before you go
🗓️ Best time
Best in the calmer, drier stretches (roughly March–October for this eastern coast). Jellyfish numbers vary seasonally and year to year — ask locally before you go.
🧭 Getting there & access
By boat from Hayanggabon port (via Surigao City) to Bucas Grande, or from Siargao on day trips; a local guide and boat are required to time the tides through the cave. Sanctuary fees apply.
Good to know
- Cave entry is tide-dependent — a guide is essential to time it safely.
- Do not use sunscreen or lotion before entering the jellyfish lagoon; oils harm them.
- Handle nothing: the jellyfish are delicate and the lagoons are strictly protected.
Natural riches of the area
- Drowned karst islands with sea caves and enclosed lagoons
- Stingless golden jellyfish in sheltered brackish lagoons
- Mangrove forest and fringing reef
- Nesting seabirds and rich coastal fisheries
Local food
- Fresh seafood
- Crab, prawns, and reef fish from the surrounding waters.
- Coconut everything
- Bucas Grande is thick with coconut palms; fresh buko juice and coconut dishes abound.
- Kinilaw
- Raw fish 'cooked' in vinegar and calamansi, the coastal Mindanao staple.
Sohoton Cove hides in plain sight on Bucas Grande Island, and getting in is half the wonder. The main lagoon system is reached through a sea cave that boats can only pass at low tide, when the water drops enough to duck beneath the limestone. Inside is a hush of cliff-ringed lagoons, stalactite caves, and jump-off ledges over deep, clear water.
Its most famous residents are the golden jellyfish that gather in the sheltered brackish lagoons. Cut off in calm water with few predators, they have lost most of their sting, so swimmers can drift among the softly pulsing swarms — an experience shared with only a handful of places worldwide.
That intimacy is fragile. The jellyfish are easily harmed by sunscreen and rough handling, and the lagoons are strictly protected. Visited on the sanctuary’s terms, with a guide to read the tides, Sohoton is one of the most magical corners of Mindanao.
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