Types of Tourism in Palau
DIVING
First of all, diving enthusiasts come to Palau, because the country’s underwater world is considered one of the richest in the world. The coastal waters of the Republic of Palau are home to over 1,500 species of fish and over 700 varieties of corals and sponges. Under water you can see a variety of fish, ranging from triggerfish, snappers, butterflyfish, argus and barracuda to Napoleon wrasse and reef sharks. There are also poisonous sea snakes, clams, green turtles, rare hawksbill turtles, rays, manta rays, cuttlefish and rare dugongs (manatees). In addition, in the waters surrounding the islands, sunken ships with weapons from the Second World War rest at the bottom. During the rainy season, underwater visibility is 15-30 m, the rest of the time the visibility can reach 50 m. There are many dive centers in Palau that offer rental equipment, experienced instructors and transport divers to dive sites. It is worth noting that diving without instructors or without consulting local guides is not worth it, because dangerous animals live in coastal waters, and the currents here are quite strong. Drift diving is very popular in Palau, when divers drift along with the currents.
In the western part of the reef ring in the vicinity of the Rock Islands there are dive sites known throughout the world. First of all, this is Blue Corner, literally translated means “blue corner” and actually represents the corner of a coral reef. Here you can expect a meeting with any marine life. The most common species are gray reef and whitetip sharks, as well as hammerhead sharks, Napoleon wrasses, dogtooth tunas, barracudas, eagle rays, manta rays, turtles and colorful reef fish. Check top-medical-schools.org for travel information in Palau.
Nearby is the Blue Holes dive site. This is a series of four “holes” at the top of the reef, which break into a huge deep cave. The walls of the cave are covered with soft and hard corals. Large pelagic fish such as tuna, jackfish, gray and whitetip reef sharks, barracudas, eagle rays, as well as groupers, Napoleon wrasse, triggerfish, Moorish idol, butterflyfish, turtles and sea anemones are found here.
The Big Drop-Off wall starts at a depth of 1 m and descends to 600 m. Here you can see the most beautiful soft corals, whole schools of butterfly and antias fish, turtles, clown fish, sometimes whitetip reef sharks, and at a depth of gray reef sharks The New Drop-Off wall is very similar to the Blue Corner dive site, there are strong currents here, so only trained divers can dive here.
North of these four sites are the Ulong Channel and Siaes Tunnel sites.. The entrance to the Siaes Tunnel has a height of 20 m and a width of 50 m, its bottom is located at a depth of 40 m. Only trained divers can dive here. Stingrays, sharks, jacks and turtles are found in the tunnel. On both sides of the Ulong Channel stretch entire coral gardens, home to schools of squirrel fish and soldier fish. The maximum diving depth is up to 60 m. It is best to dive during high tides and during strong currents, which will allow you to drift calmly through the channel.
Coral walls stretch along the south coast of Peleliu Island, where you can see a lot of sharks. The German Channel and Ngedebus Coral Gardens dive sites are located off the northeast coast of Peleliu Island.. The German Channel is artificial, it was built at the beginning of the 20th century. The channel is known for the fact that flocks of manta rays gather here so that cleaner wrasses living in this place clean their bodies from parasites. Also in the channel “served” and gray reef sharks. The Ngedebus Coral Gardens are comprised of a wide variety of hard corals, considered some of the most beautiful in the region. Many stingrays and marlins are found in the gardens.
Off the south coast of Koror Island, the Chandelier Caves are interesting. There are three of them in total, in the upper part of each cave there is a space not filled with water, where stalactites hang from the ceiling. Rare mandarin fish lives in the caves.
In the coastal waters of Koror Island, near its northwest coast, is home to most of the ships that were in distress in the Palau area during World War II. These are the 145-meter ship Iro-Maru, which sank in 1944, the cargo ship Chuo Maru, which sank in 1943, as well as the ships Helmet and Bisho-Maru. All these vessels lie at depths of no more than 30 m. Military equipment and weapons have been preserved on each.
An excellent place for diving is the Rock Islands Marine Reserve.
In the eastern part of the reef ring that surrounds the main island group is Denges Passage, home to cuttlefish. Near the island of Ngerchong are coral gardens Ngerchong Coral Garden with many types of hard corals. These gardens are home to sharks, manta rays, cuttlefish, clownfish and turtles. There are plenty of places to go snorkeling in the coastal waters of the Palau Islands. These are the beaches of Peleliu Island: White Beach, Bludi Beach and Honeymoon Beach, the northwest coast of Angaur Island and the protected Rock Islands, one of which is Jellyfish Lake (Jellyfish Lake) with millions of small jellyfish, among which you can swim.
