Advanced Palau
Palau
The world's first shark sanctuary, with channels where you have to hook onto the rock
In 2009 this country declared its entire exclusive economic zone a shark sanctuary, the first in the world. Today, in its channels, you have to hook onto the rock with a reef hook so you don't get swept away while sharks patrol the edge a metre and a half away.
In this profile you'll find out why Palau's channels concentrate so much life, how diving with a reef hook works, what Jellyfish Lake is and why it's only visited freediving, what WWII wrecks are here, when to go, and what level it really demands.
This is the destination that turned shark protection into state policy before anyone else, and the most cited proof that a living shark is worth far more than a caught one.
Geography and access
Palau is an archipelago in the western Pacific, east of the Philippines, made up of a few large islands and hundreds of vegetation-covered limestone islets that rise out of the water like mushrooms.
The outer reef surrounds the archipelago and is broken by channels through which an enormous volume of water flows in and out with each tidal cycle. Those channels, and the reef corners where the current speeds up, are the country's signature diving.
Among the islets lies a maze of lagoons, bays and inland lakes. One of those lakes holds a population of golden jellyfish that, isolated from their predators, lost their stinging ability to the point of it being imperceptible.
The archipelago was the scene of intense fighting in World War II and holds Japanese wrecks and aircraft remains, some at recreational depth.
Access is by international flight with a connection from Asia or Guam. Almost all diving is done via daily boat trips or liveaboard, with short crossings from the main area.
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