Blue Lagoon (Laguna Mahumalalang)

Everyone in English calls this the Blue Lagoon. Locally it is Laguna Mahumalalang, sometimes Danau Mahumalalang, and the local name is worth using because it's the one people on Labengki actually say.

You'll also see it called the Green Lagoon, and that's not a different place. It is the same water on a different day.

Why the colour changes

This is the genuinely interesting thing about the stop, and it explains the naming confusion.

The lagoon holds a mix of fresh and sea water. Fresh water sits differently from salt water, the floor beneath it is clean white sand, and the whole thing is enclosed by tall karst walls that change how much light reaches the surface through the day.

The result is a colour that moves. Turquoise in bright overhead light, greener when the walls are shading it, deeper blue where the sand drops away. Photographs of this lagoon taken hours apart look like two locations, which is why half the internet calls it blue and the other half calls it green.

The other consequence of the brackish mix is that it feels different to swim in from open sea. Cooler in patches, and with the slightly odd optical blur where fresh and salt water meet.

Getting in

Worth knowing before you go, because it is not a step off a boat onto sand.

The lagoon is enclosed. Reaching it from the water involves climbing over rock to get in, and the rock is limestone, which means it is sharp where it is exposed. Reports from visitors consistently mention scrambling across sharp rocks on the way in.

Practically:

• Footwear with a sole matters here. This is not a barefoot entry. Trekking sandals or reef shoes.
• Hands free. Anything you carry goes in a bag on your back.
• Take it slowly. Wet limestone is both sharp and slick, which is an unpleasant combination.

Nobody needs to be an athlete for this. It is short. It is just not smooth.

What it is like inside

Still water, white sand under it, small fish moving around the edges, and karst walls going straight up on all sides.

It is quiet in a way open water is not, because the rock cuts the wind and the swell. On a trip with a lot of boat noise and a lot of sun, this is the stop people tend to stay in longest.

It's also one of the more reliable stops on the Labengki side. Being enclosed, it is far less exposed than the outer sites, so it holds up when conditions elsewhere are marginal.

Looking after it

An enclosed body of water doesn't flush the way open sea does. Whatever goes in stays around.

• No sunscreen going in, if you can manage it. Cover up with a rash guard and apply after.
• Don't stand on the bottom. White sand looks empty and is not.
• Take everything out that you brought in.

Practical summary

• Getting there: by boat from the Labengki side, then a short scramble over rock
• Difficulty: low but sharp underfoot. Proper footwear needed
• Swimming: yes, and it's the reason to come
• Sheltered: yes, one of the more weather-reliable stops
• Pairs with: Kimaboe Hill, usually visited on the same run

Common questions

Is it blue or green? Both, at different times of day. The water is a mix of fresh and salt over white sand inside shaded karst walls, so the colour moves with the light.

What does Mahumalalang mean? It is the local name for the lagoon. We are not going to offer a translation we can't source.

Is it hard to get into? Short but sharp. You climb over limestone rock rather than walking in from a beach. Footwear with a sole is the whole answer.

Is it on every itinerary? It is a standard stop on the Labengki side, including on the three-day Labengki Sombori tour from Kendari, and it is more weather-reliable than most.

How does it compare with the other lagoons? It is the most enclosed and the most sheltered of them. The others on the route are covered on the other Labengki lagoons on the route.