Dive spots around Palau
- General
- Dive spots
- Accomodation
- Dive operators
- Fauna
There are 24 well known divesites in Palau. Choose wisely, but I don’t think any one will disappoint. Nonetheless, I think you need to make a selection.
The 2 most interesting divesites are the Blue Corner and the Blue Holes.
All dives are a good 30 to 40 minute boat ride from the capital Koror, where most dive outfits have shop.
Download the cheatsheet with all dive locations! (PDF file). Paste this puppy in your logbook before leaving to Palau.
Amatzu maru (wreck) | depth 40 m (128 feet)
The largest wreck in Micronesia, the Amatzu Maru was a new Japanese tanker until it was sunk by several 1000lb bombs and left in 40m of water. More than 150 meters from bow to stern, it is also Palau's deepest wreck.
After the war, when tankers were in desperately short supply, attempts were made to refloat this one. These bids failed, as did an attempt to cut the wreck up for scrap, after an explosion of trapped vapour killed some of the divers involved. None of the metal salvaged from the Operation Desecrate One wrecks ever made it back to Japan. The entire salvage fleet encountered a typhoon in the South China Sea and was sunk without trace.
The Amatzu Maru sits upright, a diver's dream wreck. Long catwalks stretch from the superstructure at the stern to the superstructure close to forward. Huge pipes lie across the decks. Empty davits swing devoid of their lifeboats. Giant oysters and soft corals clutter the railings.
The engine-room lights are left open, as they were on that fateful day in 1944. A few portholes gape open. Winches are almost disguised under their coating of coral.
A crazy ladder leads to nowhere, a solitary oyster grinning from one rung. The huge four-bladed prop remains where it was, but the aft gun is missing.
Batcave | depth 3 m (9.6 feet)
This divesite is mainly used when the weather prohibits other dives. This site opposite a cave houses coral.
Bichu maru (whiteface wreck) | depth 36 m (115.2 feet)
The question still remains is this the Bichu Maru?! There is still much confusion as to which ship is which in Palau; is the Iro the Sata or is the Sata the Iro? The Bichu Maru it may not be, but the Whiteface Wreck is so named because she lies close to the shoreline near Urukthapal Island where a pale section of rock is exposed to the elements. Visibility is never that good on the Bichu Maru; so close as she is to the shore, in an area with little movement of fresh tidal water, and lying on a silty bottom, the best I got was about 60ft, the worst about 20ft. She lies on her port side at about 60º at a depth of 90-100ft and her wooden decking has long since rotted away, exposing the steel framework beneath. This allows you to swim almost the entire length of the interior of the wreck and always be able to see through the ribs of the deck to the open water outside. This does make for excellent photo opportunities! The wreck has a wealth of critters on it, including mating nudibranchs, and on the hull, numerous anemones and clownfish. The hull is pitted with small holes in which can be found little gobies of every description. The bnow has no gun but there are some large anchor winches, and her anchors are still intact. The large holds only contain silt, so it would seem she was not carrying any cargo when she sank. The bridge is on 3 levels, and the telegraph and rudder stand are still intact, though damaged. This would suggest the Bichu Maru was not salvaged after the war.
Wrecks litter the seabed around the Palau Islands, a legacy of the ferocious fighting that took place in the region between U.S. and Japanese forces during World War II. One of the finest is the Bichu Maru, a 360-feet (110-m) long army cargo ship that is lying on its port side in 131 feet (40 m) of water. The wreck is largely intact, with the starboard rail amidships about 33 feet (10 m) from the surface.
Although the ship sustained damage when sunk by American bombers on March 30, 1944, she nonetheless retains most of her superstructure and hull. Her holds are empty, which allows divers to penetrate deeply into the wreck all the way through to the engine room to observe a matrix of valves and pipes. In the galley just aft of the engine room, stoves, kettles, and rice pans are still lying around, and as you exit the galley to return to the exterior of the wreck, it is worth giving the silt below the wreck a brief search for pieces of unbroken china that were lost from the galley during the sinking.
Swirling over the superstructure of the wreck are juvenile harlequin sweetlips, along with six-banded anglefish and eight-banded butterflyfish. Some beautiful sea whips are growing from the starboard anchor, which is still in its stowed position. On the deck itself the stunning nudibranch, Glossodoris egretta, is particularly abundant.
Big Drop off | depth 17 m (54.4 feet)
This steep wall offers an amazing formation of soft and hard corals and a healthy population of reef fish. The best of Big Drop Off lies relatively shallow in 2 - 17m, which also makes it an excellent snorkeling area.
Blue Corner (hook use) | depth 30 m (96 feet)
Blue Corner is regarded as one of the best single dives on earth! The wall is vertical and deep and is known for it's sheer abundance of underwater life. There are large pelagic fish; schooling barracudas; tropical fish in every variety; turtles; guaranteed sharks; hard corals; soft corals; and fan corals. Strong tidal currents nourish this chain of life. Best diving is from 15 to 24 meters. Not a dive for beginner divers.
Underwater map available
Blue Holes | depth 30 m (96 feet)
Blue Holes is a huge cavern on the north side of Ngemelis Island. Four big holes on the ceiling enable a lot of ambient light to penetrate the cave and create great photo opportunities.
Don’t miss: photo opportunity
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Image © Sogival.com
Buoy 6 wreck (wreck) | depth 26 m (83.2 feet)
Patrol boat, best wreck for macro photography, excellent night dive.
Home to nudibranches, which make excellent macro subjects. There is a possibility of strong current.
Cemetary reef | depth 10 m (32 feet)
Schools of fish to be found here.
Chandelier cave | depth 10 m (32 feet)
Calcium carbonate laden rainwater, seeping through the limestone above, formed the cave that Palauans call Liel Temekai - the "Cave of the Grouper". Chandelier Cave offers a unique opportunity to dive a cave without training in Cave Diving. The cave is safe to dive because there is air inside - no special certification is required for this dive.
The cave consists of three air filled chambers in a straight line, with a single entrance and exit. There are NO side tunnels or caves to get lost in - and the exit can be seen at all times. Diving lights, which can be rented for a small fee, are required inside the cave. The deepest part of the dive is 30 feet (10m), with the majority of the time spent in at the surface inside each chamber. Each chamber is spectacular in its own way. You will see magnificently colored flowstones and crystalline stalactites in each of them, as well as some dipping below the surface of the water. Stalactites are still forming in each of the three chambers. Once you exit the cave you will then have a chance to catch a glimpse of a mandarin fish - one of the rarest and most beautiful fish in Palau. With a little patience and a good eye you will be able to see this very colorful fish, as well as nudibranchs and signal gobies.
Chuyu maru (wreck) | depth 36 m (115.2 feet)
A small freighter sunk near the present day port, in limited visibility. The mastposts are covered with a fine vinelike marine plant, which holds small silver minnows, which attract lionfish. Freighter, stern gun and shell, bridge intact, engine room, many Lion fish.
Clam city | depth 10 m (32 feet)
This privately owned island is one of the most beautiful in Palau. To visit the island, permission, from its owner Hokkons Baules, is needed. Giant Tridacnas Clams, brought to this island for protection against poachers, dot the coral slopes and sandy bottom, on the south side, of the island. Some of the clams weigh as much as 250 lb. and are estimated to be over 100 years old.
Devilfish City (wall) | depth 0 m (0 feet)
Devilfish City is one of the best places in Micronesia to see the Manta Ray. It is located some 20 miles north of Koror, which makes it a little far for most of the local dive shops - there's a good chance that yours will be the only party in the area. The site consists of several cleaning stations, from where the mantas can be observed in ones and twos, but more often in larger groups (up to thirty or fourty at a time) - soaring over the cleaning stations one at a time. Devilfish City differs from Palau's more frequented manta site German Channel in that there is little else to see if the mantas don't show up and, due to the distance from base, two consecutive dives are usually planned for this site. This area is one of the few in Palau where you might catch a glimpse of the rare leaf fish - looking for all the world like a leaf bobbing in the current, but in fact a superbly disguised fish. Typically 3 to 4 inches in length, they sit on the reef for long periods, with their bodies acting as sails, swaying with the slightest current. Their reflective, almost glowing eyes giving them an even more mysterious appearance.
German Channel (Southern rock islands) | depth 18 m (57.6 feet)
German Channel is a man made shallow channel that connects the lagoon with the outer reef. The channel was blasted by the Germans in the early 1900s in order to transport the excavated phosphates from the island of Angaur to the Koror port. Today, many Manta Rays visit the channel and feed on the plankton that the strong currents bring. Few cleaning stations in the channel's mouth allow one to view those great creatures from such a short distance. The cleaning station is at 18m and the beautiful coral garden at 7-13m.
This divesite is also home to a large group of garden eels. Turtles and Lion fish often spotted.
Don’t miss: Chance to spot Longnose hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus)
German Channel garden | depth 10 m (32 feet)
Good spot for a night dive. Scorpion fish, Lion fish and Moray eels.
Gozan maru (wreck) | depth 30 m (96 feet)
The Gozan Maru, located in the southern part of the Western Lagoon, lies in a sheltered part of the Rock Island in depths ranging from 15 to 30 metres. This ship differs from the other Splash wreck sites in that it is not upright. She lies on her port side but is still quite intact after all the years on the bottom. Dives here can be a little disorientating due to the ships position, but, after a few minutes the layout becomes clear. There are swim throughs from one hold to another, but be careful. One word of warning, stay out of the engine room, there is a lot of debris here and a diver can get into trouble. Many corals have also attached themselves to the wreck bringing with them their attendant reef fish. A manta was also spotted here on a recent dive.
Helmet wreck, the | depth 31 m (99.2 feet)
Small supply ship, stern gun and shells, depth charges and radial engines for zero fighters in cargo hold. This 58 m ship is the second-latest to be found in the fleet of wrecks that litter the Palauan waters. Named because of the quantity of helmets laying in the cargo hold, the proper name is still to be found. The boat lies almostvertically with the stern at 10 m facing the surface.
Don’t miss: gas masks, helmets, depth charges, and a big gun
Iro maru (wreck) | depth 36 m (115.2 feet)
Fleet oiler, large coral encrusted bow and stem guns, open engine room.
Home of the King’s Cross.
Don’t miss: King’s Cross, Gas Mask
Jake seaplane (planewreck) | depth 15 m (48 feet)
The Jake floatplane, an Aichi E13A or Jake type reconnaissance seaplane, is one of the most intact aircraft wrecks in Micronesia. It sits mostly upright with wings and one float still intact in shallow water not far off the Meyuns seaplane ramp.
Floatplane, intact (bomb radios, etc. are still around Is this still true?)
Jellyfish lake | depth 0 m (0 feet)
Jellyfish or Ongeim’l Tketau as it is called in Palauan caontains thousands of non-stinging jellyfish making this a fun place to snorkel. Make the best use of jellyfish and light to make nice pictures. These blind jellyfish actually "swim" by the sun picking up light with photoreceptors. Don’t dive too deep, because there is a dangerous sulphuric acid layer in the lake at a certain depth. It irritates and burns skin, so don’t dive down into it. No scubadiving here! The island on which Jellyfish lake is located is called Mecherchar.
Lettuce Coral wall | depth 0 m (0 feet)
A reef fish nursery spot.
Mandarin fish lake | depth 2 m (6.4 feet)
Very shallow dive site almost completely landlocked, but popular due to the presence of the photogenic manderinfish.
If you’re lucky you can laugh at Nitrox divers "diving" to 2 meters!
This isn't really a lake but actually a small bay protected by a very narrow channel. The lake itself is very shallow, mostly less than 20ft deep. Large jellyfish and (juvenile) harlequin sweetlips (very cool fish!) can also be spotted here.
The lake itself is near Risong Bay.
Check out some awesome photos from Jan Erik Johnson.
Muck diving (muck) | depth 2 m (6.4 feet)
When people think of Palau they generally don’t think about muckdiving like in the strait of Lembeh. Muck diving is diving in shallow waters, where there isn’t good visibility. It offers the chance of encountering young animals of known species in varying colorpatterns. You can also find more elusive strange animals.
Good muckdiving in Palau can be done just under the jetty near Sam’s Tours.
Here you can find: bobtail squid (Euprymna sp.), Spiny devilfish (Inimicus Didactylus), juvenile cuttlefish (Sepia sp.), various crabs and juvenile spadefish mimicking leaves.
New Drop off (hook use) | depth 25 m (80 feet)
90 degree wall towards open water gives a spectacular view on pelagics and large fish. Napoleons and schools of Barracuda can be seen here.
Ngedebus Gardens | depth 12 m (38.4 feet)
Marine turtles, cuttlefish, anemones, tradacna clams, shy white-tipped reef sharks,rainbow-colored gobies, and thousands of small schooling fish.
Ngedebus Wall (wall) | depth 0 m (0 feet)
Situated south of Turtle Cove, Ngedebus Wall is a reef and wall dive where it is possible to encounter most of Palau`s diverse marine life. Starting from the boat on the reeftop divers drop over the wall and begin their swim in a southerly direction. Keep an eye open on the sand ledges that appear on the wall, these are favourite sleeping and clearning stations for the Leopard Sharks that inhabit the waters here. It is possible to get quite close to these animals if you are quiet and careful. The dive finishes attached to or hovering over the shallow reeftop watching the action going on around you. Sometimes the currents here are strong, so a reef hook is advisable equipment.
Ngemelis wall (wall) | depth 15 m (48 feet)
The Ngemelis Drop-Off is considered to be one of the world's best wall dives. Starting in water just knee deep, the wall drops off vertically nearly 300 meters. Divers can free float past a brilliant rainbow of sponges and soft corals whose intense blues, reds, or pure whites form a back drop for quivering nine foot orange and yellow sea fans and giant black coral trees. The hard to find Leaf fish has been spotted here. Excellent option for a night dive.
Ngerchong Inside | depth 15 m (48 feet)
Some dead coral here. Cuttlefish.
Ngerchong Outside | depth 42 m (134.4 feet)
Steep drop leads to 40 meters. Due to ocean undercurrents the temperature at this site can be much colder than the other shallower divesites. You can spot seasnakes here.
Peleliu Expressway | depth 40 m (128 feet)
The currents at Peleliu Expressway are unpredictable and often change directions without notice. As rule of thumb, incoming tide will flow to the northeast; the outgoing tide flows to southwest creating what is called the 'expressway' effect. During full and new moon the currents are more severe and special care should be taken if this dive is attempted during this period.
Rembrandt's Cove | depth 0 m (0 feet)
A coral spawning site. But I guess the coral spawning is seasonal.
Ryuko Maru (wreck) | depth 20 m (64 feet)
It was sunk while at anchor in station harbour. Looking directly south from the dive center, across the channel is Ngargol Island. The Ryuko lies on an even keel parallel to this island, about 75 metres offshore. The ship was a medium sized standard Japanese freighter, about 100 metres long. The bow is met at 20 metres and there are plenty of accessible interior compartments to explore. Again, sessile marine life has overgrown the Ryuko, especially black corals. An easy close dive to Splash, she can even be explored by taking dive equipment on a kayak and paddling over to Ngargol.
Siaes Corner (hook use) | depth 20 m (64 feet)
Siaes Tunnel | depth 35 m (112 feet)
Massive tunnel starting at 30 meters and extending to 45 meters. The diameter is 10 meters at places and reaches a length of 50 meters. Black coral can be seen on the ceiling. Turtles are often spotted near the exit.
Soft Coral arch | depth 9 m (28.8 feet)
This protected site is near the island of Ngeruktabel. At 7 meters it's possible to enter a norrow fissure in the reef and exit at 3 meters on the other side of the island. Care must be taken not disturb the sand and spoil the otherwise excellent clarity of the water. This spot is protected from wind and waves. Not spectacular. Lobsters are found in the passageway.
Turtle cove (hook use) | depth 20 m (64 feet)
The entry point for the Turtle Cove dive is very close to a small island with a sandy beach, a great place to stop for lunch. About 50 metres from this beach, out over the reef top is a hole. The water here is generally shallow enough to stand up in. Divers enter the hole and glide down past red and yellow coral trees. Landing on a sandy bottom at 23 metres a window to the open seas opens on the wall. Moving to the right of this the dive then continues along the wall. Again, the wall vanishes down out of sight. Looking up to the surface large schools of jacks and be spotted swirling in the currents. Grey Reef and White Tip Sharks can also be spotted patrolling in and out of the schools. Swimming on to a promontory on the reef it is not unusual to be followed by a turtle or two. Once at the point the reef top slopes and deepens slightly, in some conditions reef hooks are needed to keep station in the current. Here again Palau’s marine life congregates to finish this dive in style.
Turtle Wall (wall, drift) | depth 12 m (38.4 feet)
Shallow dive site. Also ideal for snorkeling. This wall is covered with corals and sponges. Red is the dominant color when you bring a lamp. Moray eels, Scorpion fish and Napoleons can be seen here.
Ulong Channel (Ngerumekaol Pass) (open, wall) | depth 25 m (80 feet)
This dive is one of Palau’s best kept secrets - and one of our favorite dives. The best time to dive Ulong Channel is on an incoming tide and preferably when the incoming current is strong. There are three things about this dive that make it special:
1. a beautiful wall with nice table corals.
2. lots of shark action at the mouth of the channel
3. the drift along the channel itself. If the current is strong there will be as many or more sharks concentrated at the mouth of the channel as at Blue Corner on a good day. You will hook in at the mouth of the channel enjoy the show - then unhook and enter the channel for the drift dive of your life. With a good, strong current you will be swept deep into the channel, which eventually just stops in shallow water. Inside the channel you will pass one of the prettiest patches of reef in all of Palau. There is an entire hill of cabbage coral, each leaf stuffed with hiding fish. We like to call it the “fish condominiums”. To top off a great dive, your safety stop will be in shallow water around a giant clam.
USS Perry (wreck) | depth 82 m (262.4 feet)
The only US shipwreck in Micronesia. Sunk after hitting a mine on September 14, 1944.
Discovered by Fish ‘n Fins expedition on May 1, 2000.
On September 14, 1944, the USS PERRY, an American destroyer minesweeper hit a mine and sank 700 yards south of Angaur in the Palau Archipelago.
May 1, 2000, 56 years later, an expedition organized by Fish ‘n Fins, the pioneer dive shop in Palau, and led by owner Navot Bornovski, found the USS PERRY at its resting place, 240 feet deep. Navot and PADI OWDI Jeff Wonnenberg were the first to dive the newly found wreck on May 1st and 2nd.
The saga began on September 14, 1944 when the DMS 17, USS PERRY (along with six other minesweepers) cleared the water around Angaur Island prior to the invasion.
At 14:07, the USS PERRY struck a mine and sank in less than two hours. Nine sailors were killed in the explosion. Within 20 minutes, the Perry was listing at 30 degrees and "Abandon the Ship" order was given. USS SOUTHARD rescued the crew from the water. One of the 140 survivors that day was 2nd Seaman/Gunner Larry Tunks. Mr. Tunks never forgot the destroyer on which he lived for more than a year nor his deceased shipmates. In the years that followed, Mr. Tunks collected material and information about the ship, its crew and whereabouts.
In 1999, Larry contacted Fish ‘n Fins dive shop in Palau and enlisted their assistance in finding the ship. Fish ‘n Fins had gained a reputation for finding shipwrecks after its previous owner Francis Toribiong found the lost WWII Japanese fleet in Palau in the early and mid 1980s. Larry Tunks arrived in Palau on April 29, 2000 and brought with him copies of the official Navy Action Report regarding the sinking of the USS PERRY, the ship’s log and the minesweeping pattern on the day she sank. With all the newly declassified Navy documents, Fish ‘n Fins team organized an expedition to find the ship.
Avoiding areas where many shipwreck hunters looked before, the USS PERRY was found in 240 feet of water lying on her side. It was Larry Tunks 78th birthday that day!
Due to the explosion in the engine room, the ship broke in half when she sunk, yet the two parts are still connected. The stern lay west to east and the bow south to north.
On their first dive, Navot Bornovski and Jeff Wonnenberg identified the wreck. On May 2, 2000, the stern area including the 4’ stern gun along with the port side of the engine room was inspected. The visibility around the island of Angaur is phenomenal (more than 300 feet, the Fish ‘n Fins boat could be seen on the surface!).
When Fish ‘n Fins team came up from the first dive aboard the USS PERRY, Larry Tunks took off his cloths and jumped into the water (as he did 56 years before). Hugging Navot and Jeff and crying, Larry had fulfilled his life-long dream. DMS 17, the USS PERRY is back.
Fish ‘n Fins dive shop has since lead technical divers to explore the untouched wreck.
More information:
http://oceanhunter.com/USS-Perry.html
http://www.ussperry.com/dms-17/story.htm
Another website about the USS Perry discovery.
Virgin Blue hole | depth 40 m (128 feet)
This reef starts at New Drop Off, runs through Fairyland, and ends at Blue Corner. The dive usually starts at the mooring buoy to the south of Virgin Blue Hole. Occasionally, if the tide is very low or the swell is high, the dive will commence down along the outer wall and into the tunnel opening.
Yellow wall (wall) | depth 25 m (80 feet)
The yellow wall at Peleliu - South of Belau - is gaining in popularity. This is de deepest wall in Palaa and is covered in yellow corals. It is also the best place to see the rarer large pelagic fish like silvetip sharks and hammerhead sharks.
All photo’s are from the actual locations!
The 2 most interesting divesites are the Blue Corner and the Blue Holes.
All dives are a good 30 to 40 minute boat ride from the capital Koror, where most dive outfits have shop.
Download the cheatsheet with all dive locations! (PDF file). Paste this puppy in your logbook before leaving to Palau.Amatzu maru (wreck) | depth 40 m (128 feet)The largest wreck in Micronesia, the Amatzu Maru was a new Japanese tanker until it was sunk by several 1000lb bombs and left in 40m of water. More than 150 meters from bow to stern, it is also Palau's deepest wreck.After the war, when tankers were in desperately short supply, attempts were made to refloat this one. These bids failed, as did an attempt to cut the wreck up for scrap, after an explosion of trapped vapour killed some of the divers involved. None of the metal salvaged from the Operation Desecrate One wrecks ever made it back to Japan. The entire salvage fleet encountered a typhoon in the South China Sea and was sunk without trace.
The Amatzu Maru sits upright, a diver's dream wreck. Long catwalks stretch from the superstructure at the stern to the superstructure close to forward. Huge pipes lie across the decks. Empty davits swing devoid of their lifeboats. Giant oysters and soft corals clutter the railings.
The engine-room lights are left open, as they were on that fateful day in 1944. A few portholes gape open. Winches are almost disguised under their coating of coral.
A crazy ladder leads to nowhere, a solitary oyster grinning from one rung. The huge four-bladed prop remains where it was, but the aft gun is missing.
Batcave | depth 3 m (9.6 feet)This divesite is mainly used when the weather prohibits other dives. This site opposite a cave houses coral.
Bichu maru (whiteface wreck) | depth 36 m (115.2 feet)The question still remains is this the Bichu Maru?! There is still much confusion as to which ship is which in Palau; is the Iro the Sata or is the Sata the Iro? The Bichu Maru it may not be, but the Whiteface Wreck is so named because she lies close to the shoreline near Urukthapal Island where a pale section of rock is exposed to the elements. Visibility is never that good on the Bichu Maru; so close as she is to the shore, in an area with little movement of fresh tidal water, and lying on a silty bottom, the best I got was about 60ft, the worst about 20ft. She lies on her port side at about 60º at a depth of 90-100ft and her wooden decking has long since rotted away, exposing the steel framework beneath. This allows you to swim almost the entire length of the interior of the wreck and always be able to see through the ribs of the deck to the open water outside. This does make for excellent photo opportunities! The wreck has a wealth of critters on it, including mating nudibranchs, and on the hull, numerous anemones and clownfish. The hull is pitted with small holes in which can be found little gobies of every description. The bnow has no gun but there are some large anchor winches, and her anchors are still intact. The large holds only contain silt, so it would seem she was not carrying any cargo when she sank. The bridge is on 3 levels, and the telegraph and rudder stand are still intact, though damaged. This would suggest the Bichu Maru was not salvaged after the war.
Wrecks litter the seabed around the Palau Islands, a legacy of the ferocious fighting that took place in the region between U.S. and Japanese forces during World War II. One of the finest is the Bichu Maru, a 360-feet (110-m) long army cargo ship that is lying on its port side in 131 feet (40 m) of water. The wreck is largely intact, with the starboard rail amidships about 33 feet (10 m) from the surface.
Although the ship sustained damage when sunk by American bombers on March 30, 1944, she nonetheless retains most of her superstructure and hull. Her holds are empty, which allows divers to penetrate deeply into the wreck all the way through to the engine room to observe a matrix of valves and pipes. In the galley just aft of the engine room, stoves, kettles, and rice pans are still lying around, and as you exit the galley to return to the exterior of the wreck, it is worth giving the silt below the wreck a brief search for pieces of unbroken china that were lost from the galley during the sinking.
Swirling over the superstructure of the wreck are juvenile harlequin sweetlips, along with six-banded anglefish and eight-banded butterflyfish. Some beautiful sea whips are growing from the starboard anchor, which is still in its stowed position. On the deck itself the stunning nudibranch, Glossodoris egretta, is particularly abundant.
Big Drop off | depth 17 m (54.4 feet)This steep wall offers an amazing formation of soft and hard corals and a healthy population of reef fish. The best of Big Drop Off lies relatively shallow in 2 - 17m, which also makes it an excellent snorkeling area.
Blue Corner (hook use) | depth 30 m (96 feet)Blue Corner is regarded as one of the best single dives on earth! The wall is vertical and deep and is known for it's sheer abundance of underwater life. There are large pelagic fish; schooling barracudas; tropical fish in every variety; turtles; guaranteed sharks; hard corals; soft corals; and fan corals. Strong tidal currents nourish this chain of life. Best diving is from 15 to 24 meters. Not a dive for beginner divers.
Underwater map availableBlue Holes | depth 30 m (96 feet)Blue Holes is a huge cavern on the north side of Ngemelis Island. Four big holes on the ceiling enable a lot of ambient light to penetrate the cave and create great photo opportunities.Don’t miss: photo opportunity
Rate the Blue Holes[?]Have you dived the Blue Holes?
Please rate this site for others.
Image © Sogival.com
Buoy 6 wreck (wreck) | depth 26 m (83.2 feet)
Patrol boat, best wreck for macro photography, excellent night dive.Home to nudibranches, which make excellent macro subjects. There is a possibility of strong current.
Cemetary reef | depth 10 m (32 feet)Schools of fish to be found here.
Chandelier cave | depth 10 m (32 feet)Calcium carbonate laden rainwater, seeping through the limestone above, formed the cave that Palauans call Liel Temekai - the "Cave of the Grouper". Chandelier Cave offers a unique opportunity to dive a cave without training in Cave Diving. The cave is safe to dive because there is air inside - no special certification is required for this dive.
The cave consists of three air filled chambers in a straight line, with a single entrance and exit. There are NO side tunnels or caves to get lost in - and the exit can be seen at all times. Diving lights, which can be rented for a small fee, are required inside the cave. The deepest part of the dive is 30 feet (10m), with the majority of the time spent in at the surface inside each chamber. Each chamber is spectacular in its own way. You will see magnificently colored flowstones and crystalline stalactites in each of them, as well as some dipping below the surface of the water. Stalactites are still forming in each of the three chambers. Once you exit the cave you will then have a chance to catch a glimpse of a mandarin fish - one of the rarest and most beautiful fish in Palau. With a little patience and a good eye you will be able to see this very colorful fish, as well as nudibranchs and signal gobies.
Chuyu maru (wreck) | depth 36 m (115.2 feet)A small freighter sunk near the present day port, in limited visibility. The mastposts are covered with a fine vinelike marine plant, which holds small silver minnows, which attract lionfish. Freighter, stern gun and shell, bridge intact, engine room, many Lion fish.
Clam city | depth 10 m (32 feet)This privately owned island is one of the most beautiful in Palau. To visit the island, permission, from its owner Hokkons Baules, is needed. Giant Tridacnas Clams, brought to this island for protection against poachers, dot the coral slopes and sandy bottom, on the south side, of the island. Some of the clams weigh as much as 250 lb. and are estimated to be over 100 years old.
Devilfish City (wall) | depth 0 m (0 feet)Devilfish City is one of the best places in Micronesia to see the Manta Ray. It is located some 20 miles north of Koror, which makes it a little far for most of the local dive shops - there's a good chance that yours will be the only party in the area. The site consists of several cleaning stations, from where the mantas can be observed in ones and twos, but more often in larger groups (up to thirty or fourty at a time) - soaring over the cleaning stations one at a time. Devilfish City differs from Palau's more frequented manta site German Channel in that there is little else to see if the mantas don't show up and, due to the distance from base, two consecutive dives are usually planned for this site. This area is one of the few in Palau where you might catch a glimpse of the rare leaf fish - looking for all the world like a leaf bobbing in the current, but in fact a superbly disguised fish. Typically 3 to 4 inches in length, they sit on the reef for long periods, with their bodies acting as sails, swaying with the slightest current. Their reflective, almost glowing eyes giving them an even more mysterious appearance.
German Channel (Southern rock islands) | depth 18 m (57.6 feet)German Channel is a man made shallow channel that connects the lagoon with the outer reef. The channel was blasted by the Germans in the early 1900s in order to transport the excavated phosphates from the island of Angaur to the Koror port. Today, many Manta Rays visit the channel and feed on the plankton that the strong currents bring. Few cleaning stations in the channel's mouth allow one to view those great creatures from such a short distance. The cleaning station is at 18m and the beautiful coral garden at 7-13m.
This divesite is also home to a large group of garden eels. Turtles and Lion fish often spotted.
Don’t miss: Chance to spot Longnose hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus)
German Channel garden | depth 10 m (32 feet)Good spot for a night dive. Scorpion fish, Lion fish and Moray eels.
Gozan maru (wreck) | depth 30 m (96 feet)The Gozan Maru, located in the southern part of the Western Lagoon, lies in a sheltered part of the Rock Island in depths ranging from 15 to 30 metres. This ship differs from the other Splash wreck sites in that it is not upright. She lies on her port side but is still quite intact after all the years on the bottom. Dives here can be a little disorientating due to the ships position, but, after a few minutes the layout becomes clear. There are swim throughs from one hold to another, but be careful. One word of warning, stay out of the engine room, there is a lot of debris here and a diver can get into trouble. Many corals have also attached themselves to the wreck bringing with them their attendant reef fish. A manta was also spotted here on a recent dive.
Helmet wreck, the | depth 31 m (99.2 feet)
Small supply ship, stern gun and shells, depth charges and radial engines for zero fighters in cargo hold. This 58 m ship is the second-latest to be found in the fleet of wrecks that litter the Palauan waters. Named because of the quantity of helmets laying in the cargo hold, the proper name is still to be found. The boat lies almostvertically with the stern at 10 m facing the surface.Don’t miss: gas masks, helmets, depth charges, and a big gun
Iro maru (wreck) | depth 36 m (115.2 feet)
Fleet oiler, large coral encrusted bow and stem guns, open engine room.Home of the King’s Cross.
Don’t miss: King’s Cross, Gas Mask
Jake seaplane (planewreck) | depth 15 m (48 feet)The Jake floatplane, an Aichi E13A or Jake type reconnaissance seaplane, is one of the most intact aircraft wrecks in Micronesia. It sits mostly upright with wings and one float still intact in shallow water not far off the Meyuns seaplane ramp.
Floatplane, intact (bomb radios, etc. are still around Is this still true?)
Jellyfish lake | depth 0 m (0 feet)Jellyfish or Ongeim’l Tketau as it is called in Palauan caontains thousands of non-stinging jellyfish making this a fun place to snorkel. Make the best use of jellyfish and light to make nice pictures. These blind jellyfish actually "swim" by the sun picking up light with photoreceptors. Don’t dive too deep, because there is a dangerous sulphuric acid layer in the lake at a certain depth. It irritates and burns skin, so don’t dive down into it. No scubadiving here! The island on which Jellyfish lake is located is called Mecherchar.
Lettuce Coral wall | depth 0 m (0 feet)A reef fish nursery spot.
Mandarin fish lake | depth 2 m (6.4 feet)
Very shallow dive site almost completely landlocked, but popular due to the presence of the photogenic manderinfish.If you’re lucky you can laugh at Nitrox divers "diving" to 2 meters!
This isn't really a lake but actually a small bay protected by a very narrow channel. The lake itself is very shallow, mostly less than 20ft deep. Large jellyfish and (juvenile) harlequin sweetlips (very cool fish!) can also be spotted here.
The lake itself is near Risong Bay.
Check out some awesome photos from Jan Erik Johnson.
Muck diving (muck) | depth 2 m (6.4 feet)When people think of Palau they generally don’t think about muckdiving like in the strait of Lembeh. Muck diving is diving in shallow waters, where there isn’t good visibility. It offers the chance of encountering young animals of known species in varying colorpatterns. You can also find more elusive strange animals.
Good muckdiving in Palau can be done just under the jetty near Sam’s Tours.
Here you can find: bobtail squid (Euprymna sp.), Spiny devilfish (Inimicus Didactylus), juvenile cuttlefish (Sepia sp.), various crabs and juvenile spadefish mimicking leaves.
New Drop off (hook use) | depth 25 m (80 feet)90 degree wall towards open water gives a spectacular view on pelagics and large fish. Napoleons and schools of Barracuda can be seen here.
Ngedebus Gardens | depth 12 m (38.4 feet)Marine turtles, cuttlefish, anemones, tradacna clams, shy white-tipped reef sharks,rainbow-colored gobies, and thousands of small schooling fish.
Ngedebus Wall (wall) | depth 0 m (0 feet)Situated south of Turtle Cove, Ngedebus Wall is a reef and wall dive where it is possible to encounter most of Palau`s diverse marine life. Starting from the boat on the reeftop divers drop over the wall and begin their swim in a southerly direction. Keep an eye open on the sand ledges that appear on the wall, these are favourite sleeping and clearning stations for the Leopard Sharks that inhabit the waters here. It is possible to get quite close to these animals if you are quiet and careful. The dive finishes attached to or hovering over the shallow reeftop watching the action going on around you. Sometimes the currents here are strong, so a reef hook is advisable equipment.
Ngemelis wall (wall) | depth 15 m (48 feet)The Ngemelis Drop-Off is considered to be one of the world's best wall dives. Starting in water just knee deep, the wall drops off vertically nearly 300 meters. Divers can free float past a brilliant rainbow of sponges and soft corals whose intense blues, reds, or pure whites form a back drop for quivering nine foot orange and yellow sea fans and giant black coral trees. The hard to find Leaf fish has been spotted here. Excellent option for a night dive.
Ngerchong Inside | depth 15 m (48 feet)Some dead coral here. Cuttlefish.Ngerchong Outside | depth 42 m (134.4 feet)Steep drop leads to 40 meters. Due to ocean undercurrents the temperature at this site can be much colder than the other shallower divesites. You can spot seasnakes here.
Peleliu Expressway | depth 40 m (128 feet)The currents at Peleliu Expressway are unpredictable and often change directions without notice. As rule of thumb, incoming tide will flow to the northeast; the outgoing tide flows to southwest creating what is called the 'expressway' effect. During full and new moon the currents are more severe and special care should be taken if this dive is attempted during this period.
Rembrandt's Cove | depth 0 m (0 feet)A coral spawning site. But I guess the coral spawning is seasonal.
Ryuko Maru (wreck) | depth 20 m (64 feet)It was sunk while at anchor in station harbour. Looking directly south from the dive center, across the channel is Ngargol Island. The Ryuko lies on an even keel parallel to this island, about 75 metres offshore. The ship was a medium sized standard Japanese freighter, about 100 metres long. The bow is met at 20 metres and there are plenty of accessible interior compartments to explore. Again, sessile marine life has overgrown the Ryuko, especially black corals. An easy close dive to Splash, she can even be explored by taking dive equipment on a kayak and paddling over to Ngargol.
Siaes Corner (hook use) | depth 20 m (64 feet)Siaes Tunnel | depth 35 m (112 feet)Massive tunnel starting at 30 meters and extending to 45 meters. The diameter is 10 meters at places and reaches a length of 50 meters. Black coral can be seen on the ceiling. Turtles are often spotted near the exit.
Soft Coral arch | depth 9 m (28.8 feet)This protected site is near the island of Ngeruktabel. At 7 meters it's possible to enter a norrow fissure in the reef and exit at 3 meters on the other side of the island. Care must be taken not disturb the sand and spoil the otherwise excellent clarity of the water. This spot is protected from wind and waves. Not spectacular. Lobsters are found in the passageway.
Turtle cove (hook use) | depth 20 m (64 feet)The entry point for the Turtle Cove dive is very close to a small island with a sandy beach, a great place to stop for lunch. About 50 metres from this beach, out over the reef top is a hole. The water here is generally shallow enough to stand up in. Divers enter the hole and glide down past red and yellow coral trees. Landing on a sandy bottom at 23 metres a window to the open seas opens on the wall. Moving to the right of this the dive then continues along the wall. Again, the wall vanishes down out of sight. Looking up to the surface large schools of jacks and be spotted swirling in the currents. Grey Reef and White Tip Sharks can also be spotted patrolling in and out of the schools. Swimming on to a promontory on the reef it is not unusual to be followed by a turtle or two. Once at the point the reef top slopes and deepens slightly, in some conditions reef hooks are needed to keep station in the current. Here again Palau’s marine life congregates to finish this dive in style.
Turtle Wall (wall, drift) | depth 12 m (38.4 feet)Shallow dive site. Also ideal for snorkeling. This wall is covered with corals and sponges. Red is the dominant color when you bring a lamp. Moray eels, Scorpion fish and Napoleons can be seen here.Ulong Channel (Ngerumekaol Pass) (open, wall) | depth 25 m (80 feet)This dive is one of Palau’s best kept secrets - and one of our favorite dives. The best time to dive Ulong Channel is on an incoming tide and preferably when the incoming current is strong. There are three things about this dive that make it special:
1. a beautiful wall with nice table corals.
2. lots of shark action at the mouth of the channel
3. the drift along the channel itself. If the current is strong there will be as many or more sharks concentrated at the mouth of the channel as at Blue Corner on a good day. You will hook in at the mouth of the channel enjoy the show - then unhook and enter the channel for the drift dive of your life. With a good, strong current you will be swept deep into the channel, which eventually just stops in shallow water. Inside the channel you will pass one of the prettiest patches of reef in all of Palau. There is an entire hill of cabbage coral, each leaf stuffed with hiding fish. We like to call it the “fish condominiums”. To top off a great dive, your safety stop will be in shallow water around a giant clam.
USS Perry (wreck) | depth 82 m (262.4 feet)The only US shipwreck in Micronesia. Sunk after hitting a mine on September 14, 1944.
Discovered by Fish ‘n Fins expedition on May 1, 2000.
On September 14, 1944, the USS PERRY, an American destroyer minesweeper hit a mine and sank 700 yards south of Angaur in the Palau Archipelago.
May 1, 2000, 56 years later, an expedition organized by Fish ‘n Fins, the pioneer dive shop in Palau, and led by owner Navot Bornovski, found the USS PERRY at its resting place, 240 feet deep. Navot and PADI OWDI Jeff Wonnenberg were the first to dive the newly found wreck on May 1st and 2nd.
The saga began on September 14, 1944 when the DMS 17, USS PERRY (along with six other minesweepers) cleared the water around Angaur Island prior to the invasion.
At 14:07, the USS PERRY struck a mine and sank in less than two hours. Nine sailors were killed in the explosion. Within 20 minutes, the Perry was listing at 30 degrees and "Abandon the Ship" order was given. USS SOUTHARD rescued the crew from the water. One of the 140 survivors that day was 2nd Seaman/Gunner Larry Tunks. Mr. Tunks never forgot the destroyer on which he lived for more than a year nor his deceased shipmates. In the years that followed, Mr. Tunks collected material and information about the ship, its crew and whereabouts.
In 1999, Larry contacted Fish ‘n Fins dive shop in Palau and enlisted their assistance in finding the ship. Fish ‘n Fins had gained a reputation for finding shipwrecks after its previous owner Francis Toribiong found the lost WWII Japanese fleet in Palau in the early and mid 1980s. Larry Tunks arrived in Palau on April 29, 2000 and brought with him copies of the official Navy Action Report regarding the sinking of the USS PERRY, the ship’s log and the minesweeping pattern on the day she sank. With all the newly declassified Navy documents, Fish ‘n Fins team organized an expedition to find the ship.
Avoiding areas where many shipwreck hunters looked before, the USS PERRY was found in 240 feet of water lying on her side. It was Larry Tunks 78th birthday that day!
Due to the explosion in the engine room, the ship broke in half when she sunk, yet the two parts are still connected. The stern lay west to east and the bow south to north.
On their first dive, Navot Bornovski and Jeff Wonnenberg identified the wreck. On May 2, 2000, the stern area including the 4’ stern gun along with the port side of the engine room was inspected. The visibility around the island of Angaur is phenomenal (more than 300 feet, the Fish ‘n Fins boat could be seen on the surface!).
When Fish ‘n Fins team came up from the first dive aboard the USS PERRY, Larry Tunks took off his cloths and jumped into the water (as he did 56 years before). Hugging Navot and Jeff and crying, Larry had fulfilled his life-long dream. DMS 17, the USS PERRY is back.
Fish ‘n Fins dive shop has since lead technical divers to explore the untouched wreck.
More information:
http://oceanhunter.com/USS-Perry.htmlhttp://www.ussperry.com/dms-17/story.htmAnother website about the USS Perry discovery.
Virgin Blue hole | depth 40 m (128 feet)This reef starts at New Drop Off, runs through Fairyland, and ends at Blue Corner. The dive usually starts at the mooring buoy to the south of Virgin Blue Hole. Occasionally, if the tide is very low or the swell is high, the dive will commence down along the outer wall and into the tunnel opening.
Yellow wall (wall) | depth 25 m (80 feet)The yellow wall at Peleliu - South of Belau - is gaining in popularity. This is de deepest wall in Palaa and is covered in yellow corals. It is also the best place to see the rarer large pelagic fish like silvetip sharks and hammerhead sharks.
All photo’s are from the actual locations!