Main attractions in Palau

Koror
Koror – the economic center and former capital of Palau – is located on the island of the same name. Now it is a much less vibrant city compared to when it was dominated by the Japanese, with a leisurely Micronesian pace of life, with a complete absence of crowds and bustle. Remnants of the traditional past can still be found here, but at best this town is a good place to unwind for a day or two, no more. But from here it is very convenient to start a trip to Peleliu, Angaur, the Rock Islands and to many popular dive sites.

Blue Corner
Blue Corner is the most popular diving site off the coast of Palau. Known for the diversity and abundance of the inhabitants of the deep sea. Get ready for an incredible variety of tropical fish, barracudas and giant sharks, as well as corals of all kinds, waiting for you underwater. However, you should be careful when diving. Under water, there are strong tidal deep currents, so diving in the Blue Corner is only for experienced divers.

Stone Mother and Child
In Koror, the former capital and largest city of Palau, there is the ethnographic village of Njermid, on the territory of which there is a stone “Mother and Child”. This sculptural composition depicts a local legend similar to the story of Lot. It is believed that a mother and her child were turned to stone when a woman broke a taboo and looked into the house where the men of the village gathered.
Near the stone stands the abandoned Nikko Palau Hotel. Rumor has it that the hotel was closed after several guests saw the ghosts of Japanese soldiers killed during World War II here.

Malakal Island
Lying across from Koror, it is famous for its Micronesian Mariculture Exhibition Centre. Along with the impressive marine museum of the International Center for the Study of Coral Reefs, it is also an active marine research laboratory engaged in the conservation of the natural environment of the Pacific Ocean and commercial projects (the center has become very famous precisely in connection with the success in cultivating the giant clam Tridacna). WITH Malakal Hill, which is close to the center of the island, offers an excellent panorama of the Rock Islands. Locals are eager to help tourists determine the best places for fishing, so marlin, sailfish, tuna, mahi-mahi and wahoo in a centner and a half are not at all rare guests in the catches of sport fishing enthusiasts. There is also a tennis complex and an increasingly developed kayaking center as well as several underwater and water sports centers.

Kayangel
Kayangel Island, or Ngcheangel (1.4 sq. km), lies in the northernmost part of the Palau Islands, 24 km north of Koror. This is a typical coral atoll with a ring of reefs and a beautiful lagoon, more reminiscent of a picture from an advertising postcard. The main island of Ngcheangel, or Ngajangel, less than three kilometers long, is famous for being a great place for hiking, idle doing nothing, surrounded by unspoiled nature and diving. The atoll’s shallow (on average 6 m) lagoon is connected to the ocean by just one passage in the western part of the reef ring and is literally teeming with a variety of marine life. And the reef Ngaruengel, stretching 9 km northwest of Kayangel, is protected by the reserve of the same name.
At the same time, the island itself has no cars, no telephones or an airport, and therefore remains one of the most secluded places on Earth. The handmade bags and baskets here are in great demand as they are made from high quality pandanus leaves using old technology, durable and very beautiful, which makes them one of the most popular souvenirs among tourists.

Babeldaob
Babeldaob (in Russian transcription it is often called Babeltuan and even Babeltuap) – the largest island in all of Micronesia after Guam, has an area of ​​​​about 367 square meters. km (43 x 24 km), which is almost 80% of the total land area of ​​the archipelago. It is a high and very beautiful volcanic island with a green hilly landscape, a strip of small dunes, a dozen tiny freshwater lakes, with beautiful arcs of sandy beaches in the east coast and a strip of mangrove forests in the west. Part of the jungle-covered island is still virtually unexplored, and many of the tiny forest villages are still connected by ancient stone paths that are at least a thousand years old. All the slopes of the island were terraced in fields and pyramids, and archaeological research has made it possible to determine that this unique landscape was created approximately in the 1st century BC. n. e. The purpose of creating such a complex landscape system remains a mystery, and what is very curious is that only one village was built in the vicinity of these cyclopean structures.

At the northern end of the island stretches an open area known as Badrulchau.
The main attraction of this area are the rows of large basalt monoliths (more or less well preserved 37 of them), placed there, according to legend, by the gods themselves to support a huge “bai” that served as a gathering place for all the gods of the world. Stone foundations of some ancient structures, pillars and other historical ruins have also been found in the southwestern regions of the island. The origin of these megaliths is also still unknown, but their belonging to the ancient peoples of the sea is beyond doubt.

Melekeok
Only 9 thousand people live here, and no more than one and a half thousand live in the capital itself, and the rest inhabit seven surrounding villages. Главное украшение города – здание Капитолия, очень напоминающее по своей архитектуре одноименное сооружение столицы WITHША.

Another attraction is the nearby lake Ngardok
WITHамый большой естественный пресноводный водоем во всей Микронезии (общая площадь 493 гектара). There is even a small population of crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) here, and the shores of the lake serve as a recognized recreation area.

Peleliu
The island of Peleliu, or Beliliu (13 sq. km), is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror. Only about 700 people live here, but, nevertheless, this is the third largest island in Palau. Almost 80% of the islanders live in the capital of the island – the town of Cloulclubed on the north coast, the rest of the territory is a strip of green coastal forests, turning into a narrow ridge of hills, Bludy Nose Ridge, stretching along the northwestern part of the island resembling a claw.
Peleliu was the site of a fierce battle in the final period of World War II, so all of its attractions are concentrated in the National Historical Park dedicated to these events. The relic forest of the island was completely burned out during the fighting, when more than 20 thousand people died on both sides, but now it has grown again, and traces of the battle for this tiny piece of land are found in abundance under its arches. Here you can see the strip of the local airfield that has not changed much since those years, broken gun positions, burned tanks and planes, and in the waters surrounding the island you can find a lot of broken military equipment and sunken ships. There is a small military museum in Kloulklubed.
The reef wall of Peleliu, lying southwest of the island, is one of the best dive sites in the world, and White Beach, named Bloody Beach after the battles of World War II, is great for snorkeling.

Angaur
Angaur Island, or Ngeur (8 sq. Km), is the southernmost in the Palau group of islands. This is a rather reserved and calm place with only two villages and 188 inhabitants. The island became famous for its phosphate mines, which the Germans began to develop in 1909. WITHейчас на месте шахт и карьеров остались зеленые водоемы, которые служат домом маленькой колонии крокодилов. By the way, this is also the only place in Micronesia where monkeys live – macaques that escaped from the cages of German miners at one time formed a completely independent population and feel great among the green thickets of Angaura. Another unique feature of the island is the dominance of the three official languages ​​here – English, Japanese and Angaur (Western Austronesian group), as well as the first casino in the country, opened by decision of the National Congress in 2003.

Ngaramash Lonely Village
WITHчитается столицей острова и окружает гавань на западном побережье, которая имеет воду настолько спокойную и чистую, что кажется, будто это гигантский плавательный бассейn. A little to the north you can see an old Japanese lighthouse on a hill, almost hidden by the jungle. It takes a sharp eye to find it, but the reward is to enjoy the beautiful panoramas from the top of the hill. A miniature wooden Shinto shrine lying on the northwest coast, in an area with good beaches and great snorkelling spots, is the island’s main cult site. At the northwestern tip of Angaur stands a statue of the Virgin Mary, erected to protect the island from rough seas, and nearby there was a Buddhist memorial in memory of the fallen Japanese soldiers here.