A humphead wrasse in blue water off a Palau reef

Rock Islands · Republic of Palau

Sharks on the corners, jellyfish in the lake.

A field guide to the sharks, rays, fish, small creatures, turtles and birds of Palau, and to Jellyfish Lake, with where and when to look for each and links to go deeper.

Sharks and raysJellyfish Lake

Photo Megan Applegate (Palau)

1,300+fish species (Pew 2015)
445limestone Rock Islands (UNESCO)
52marine lakes, more than anywhere else (UNESCO)
80%of its waters fully protected (Pew 2015)

Why Palau

Palau is an island nation in the western Pacific of about 340 islands (Wikipedia). Its Rock Islands Southern Lagoon, 445 uninhabited limestone islands, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012 (UNESCO). In 2009 Palau created the world’s first shark sanctuary, and in 2015 it set aside about 80% of its waters, some 500,000 km², as a fully protected marine sanctuary (Pew 2015; DAN Alert Diver); a 2019 amendment kept the no-take area and moved the domestic fishing zone further out (SeafoodSource 2019).

Divers come for grey reef sharks on current-swept corners such as Blue Corner, reef mantas at German Channel, spawning fish timed by the moon, walls, caves, World War II wrecks and Jellyfish Lake (Dive The World; PADI). Since 2017 every visitor signs the Palau Pledge, stamped in their passport, promising to protect the islands (World Economic Forum). Currents can be strong, and reef hooks are standard at the corners (Dive The World).

Location

Where the sites are

The sites named under “What divers report”, from Koror out to the reef edge and south to Peleliu. The lighter shapes are reefs.

Dive sites in the southern lagoon

KororPeleliuEil Malk1. Chandelier Cave12. Siaes Tunnel23. Siaes Corner34. Ulong Channel45. Jellyfish Lake56. Blue Holes67. Blue Corner78. German Channel89. New Drop-off910. Big Drop-off1011. Peleliu Corner115 km

Dive sites, from north to south

  1. 1Chandelier Cave
  2. 2Siaes Tunnel
  3. 3Siaes Corner
  4. 4Ulong Channel
  5. 5Jellyfish Lake
  6. 6Blue Holes
  7. 7Blue Corner
  8. 8German Channel
  9. 9New Drop-off
  10. 10Big Drop-off
  11. 11Peleliu Corner

The site map works offline and prints. Satellite is interactive: zoom and drag, and tap or hover a pin for its name (it needs an internet connection). Positions are approximate. Site positions: OpenStreetMap, and Wikipedia for German Channel and Jellyfish Lake. Coastline © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Choose your dive

Six field pages, with where and when to look for each species and links to go deeper.

Grey reef sharkSharks & raysReef sharks and reef mantasWhere and when to see each, and the marks that tell them apart.Humphead wrasseFish25 reef fish and the spawning seasonsMandarinfishMacroNudibranchs, shrimp and mandarinfishGolden jellyfishJellyfish LakeGolden jellyfish found nowhere elseHawksbill turtleTurtlesHawksbill and green turtlesBlack noddyBirdsThirteen birds found only in Palau

When to go for what

Pick a month to see what is at its peak. Palau is dived all year; sources put the calmer, drier months between about November and April, with peak conditions from October to May (Palau Dive Adventures; PADI), and rain falls more often from June to October (Wikipedia). The water is about 27–30 °C all year (Liveaboard.com), though at depth around Blue Corner it can drop to about 24 °C from January to March (ISRA Ngemelis). Check conditions with your operator before booking.

Grey reef sharks
Peak Dec–Apr

Grey reef sharks

Females with fresh mating scars gather at Blue Corner mainly from December to April, and feeding groups of 100–200 sharks have been recorded there from December to February (ISRA Ngemelis).

Peak Nov–Mar

Reef mantas, German Channel

Groups of 15–25 feed around the full moon from November to January (ISRA Ngemelis Channel); one guide gives December to March as the peak at German Channel (PADI).

Peak Jan–May

Devilfish City, Ngardmau

Reef mantas feed here from January to May, peaking at 40–50 in April and May, when a strong incoming current runs before new and full moons (ISRA Ngardmau Passage).

Peak Mar–May

Spawning at Peleliu Corner

Sailfin snappers spawn from dawn to about 10 am for 4–5 days on the waxing moon, and grey reef sharks hunt the spawning fish (ISRA Peleliu Corner).

Peak Jun–Jul

Spawning at Ulong

Camouflage groupers spawn once a year in June or July, in the days before the new moon, and sharks gather to feed (ISRA Ulong).

Photo Megan Applegate (Palau)

Six to know by sight

Six animals divers meet in Palau, with the mark that gives each away. The species pages have the full notes and sources.

Grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)
Plate I

Grey reef shark

Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos
Look for
A broad black band along the whole trailing edge of the tail.
At Palau
Blue Corner, Siaes Corner, Ulong and Peleliu Corner, all year.
Whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus)
Plate II

Whitetip reef shark

Triaenodon obesus
Look for
Small and slim, with white tips on the first dorsal and the upper tail lobe.
At Palau
Resting on the reef in small groups at Blue Corner and Siaes Corner.
Humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus)
Plate III

Humphead wrasse

Cheilinus undulatus
Look for
A huge wrasse with a bulging forehead and thick lips.
At Palau
Cruising the drop-offs, including the New Drop-off.
Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata)
Plate IV

Hawksbill turtle

Eretmochelys imbricata
Look for
A sharp, hooked beak and overlapping shell plates.
At Palau
The Big Drop-off, Blue Corner and the Iro wreck.
Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus)
Plate V

Mandarinfish

Synchiropus splendidus
Look for
About 6 cm, blue with swirling orange stripes.
At Palau
Mandarin Fish Lake at sunset.
Pink anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion)
Plate VI

Pink anemonefish

Amphiprion perideraion
Look for
Pale pink-orange, with a thin white stripe on the head and another along the back.
At Palau
In magnificent sea anemones on the reef.

Open the Sharks & Rays page →

What divers report, site by site

From the ISRA factsheets, PADI, Dive The World and Palau Dive Adventures. Individual dives vary.

Blue Corner

A reef point in the current where divers hook in to watch grey reef and whitetip sharks, schools of snappers, jacks and barracuda, eagle rays and turtles; the Blue Holes nearby drop through four vertical holes in the reef.

Source: Dive The World
German Channel

A channel dredged through the reef, with a manta cleaning station at about 20 m; garden eels, shrimpgobies and nudibranchs on the sand.

Source: PADI; Dive The World
Ulong Channel

A fast drift through a channel 3–13 m deep, with lettuce coral, grey reef sharks, and spawning groupers in June or July.

Source: ISRA Ulong; Dive The World
Siaes Corner and Siaes Tunnel

A wall that drops to 40–53 m, with grey reef sharks on most dives; the tunnel opens onto the blue.

Source: ISRA Siaes Corner; Palau Dive Adventures
Peleliu Corner and Peleliu Wall

Strong currents at the southern tip, grey reef sharks on about 90% of dives, spawning snappers, and occasional bull sharks; the wall is gentler.

Source: ISRA Peleliu Corner; PADI
Big Drop-off and New Drop-off

Walls with hawksbill turtles, grey reef sharks, humphead wrasse, pyramid butterflyfish and fusiliers.

Source: Dive The World
Chandelier Cave

Chambers of stalactites and stalagmites with an air pocket; an overhead environment for trained divers.

Source: PADI; Palau Dive Adventures
Jellyfish Lake

Snorkel only: a marine lake of golden jellyfish found nowhere else. See the Jellyfish Lake page.

Source: Oceanic Society

Photos

Photos marked “Megan Applegate” were taken in Palau in January 2023 (Jellyfish Lake in September 2021), except a few species she photographed at Socorro, Cocos Island or Malpelo, which are labelled. The seabird photos are reference photos credited on the Birds page.

Photo Megan Applegate (Palau)

More information

Every link opens in a new tab. Each species page cites its own sources as well.