These tiny islands in Micronesia provide some of the most exciting and enjoyable dives you may ever do.
Palau rated as one of the world’s best diving destinations by scuba aficionados. And why not…Palau has unspoiled reefs, caves, and walls with the most amazing array of marine life you can ever imagine.
Palau beckons to you with some of the world’s most awesome natural wonders. Imagine the whitest beaches you will ever see, gardens of coral just beneath the clearest waters, lakes filled to the brim with “sting less” jellyfish. Forests, waterfalls and caves that have never been ravaged by man, and hundreds of islands of the purest beauty abound all along our pristine archipelago.
The Republic of Palau is Micronesia’s western most island chain. The tightly clustered Palau archipelago consists of over 200 islands covering a distance of around 125 miles. Palau is home to one of the world’s unique geographical phenomena, and its crowning glory, the Rock Islands. More than 200 of these jungle-topped knobs of limestone dot the waters for a 20 mile (35km) stretch south of Koror. Their bases, having been worn away by tidal action and grazing sea creatures, are narrower than their tops, causing them to look like emerald-hued mushrooms rising from the turquoise sea.
Palau beckons to you with some of the world’s most awesome natural wonders. Imagine the whitest beaches you will ever see, gardens of coral just beneath the clearest waters, lakes filled to the brim with “sting less” jellyfish. Forests, waterfalls and caves that have never been ravaged by man and hundreds of islands of the purest beauty abound all along the pristine archipelago.
Palau has three ocean currents converging in its waters to bring in some of the most varied and dazzling marine life in the world. Palau is also blessed with a rich diversity of plants & birdlife. Tropical forest covers much of the islands, species of trees include ironwood, banyan, coconut palm and pandanus. Kayaking or canoeing is the perfect way to explore the hidden network of saltwater lakes, mangrove forests, marine tunnels, tropical beaches and caverns. Palau’s warm tropical waters are legendary amongst divers for their dramatic sheer walls rising from the depths to within inches of the surface and capped with thriving coral reefs.
It is common to see 30 – 50 grey reef and whitetip sharks, eagle rays, hundreds of schooling barracuda, thousands of blue trigger fish, moray eels, lion fish, schooling humphead parrotfish, nudibranchs, several turtles and a leaf fish all on one dive.
Palau is home to over 1,300 species of fish and more than 700 species of coral. World renowned for its’ marine bio-diversity and abundance of large pelagic animals, Palau also offers avid wreck divers one of Micronesia’s largest collections of WWII shipwrecks.
This is without doubt the most famous site around Palau and the one that everyone wants to visit. Depths and currents, however, will not make it suitable for everyone.
The reef extends far out into the Pacific at an average depth of only 10m. There are vertical walls on either side that drop to a ledge at 15m and then away into the depths. What makes this site so interesting is the variety of marine life that is attracted here by the currents. When conditions are right, particularly if the current runs from the east and there is an upwelling from below, the sights can be truely spectacular.
You can expect to see plenty of whitetip and grey reef sharks, barracuda, jacks, rays, tuna, snapper, wrasse and bass. A myriad of smaller reef fish inhabit the area as well.
The opportunities for photography are excellent, but keeping oneself still in the current was virtually impossible until dive operators “invented” the reef hook. This allows you attach yourself to the coral – without causing damage to it – and keep both hands free to record the wonders around you.
