Diving in Palau, Yap & Truk
Micronesia is more water than land, with some 2,100 small islands spread over three million square miles of the Western Pacific. This region is home to some of the healthiest coral reefs and clearest waters in the world. It was also a hotbed of fighting in World War II, and the pitched battles between US and Japanese forces that took place around the islands of Palau and Chuuk now present divers with a wealth of wreck diving opportunities. Each destination in the region offers it's own mix of diving adventures. Palau is a collection of small islands grouped atop an uplifted limestone plateau at the biodiverse intersection of the Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea. The surrounding reefs support more than 1,200 species of fish and some 800 types of corals and sponges. The currents that wash channels and exposed ridges such as Blue Corner and German Drop-off draw sharks, groupers, rays, turtles, tuna and Napoleon wrasse, providing divers with a thrilling show as they hang on reef hooks to hold stationary against the flow. The lagoon holds a number of war wrecks, plus shallow reefs where currents are never a problem. Palau is famous are the submerged chambers of Chandelier Cave, which is decorated with stalagmites from an era when sea levels were lower. Equally well known is Jellyfish Lake. where non-stinging jellyfish have evolved to live in a marine pond, providing snorkelers with a rare chance to immerse themselves in a gelatinous cloud of life. Palau is also home to the famous Rock Islands. Some 200 of these unique limestone formations are found in the shallows west of Koror. Centuries of tidal erosion and grazing sea creatures have worn away the bases of these structures to give them the appearance of giant mushrooms rising from the sea.
Yap is known worldwide as a destination where interactions with manta rays are almost guaranteed. Located below the Pacific's Typhoon Belt, this coral-ringed island is washed by plankton-rich upwellings that support a resident population of mantas. These graceful members of the shark family gather at cleaning stations. The sites where mantas are most prominent are the cleaning stations of Mi'il Channel, which is located on the northwestern side of Yap, and Goofnuw to the northeastern side. As many as 40 individual mantas have been counted at each of these sites, and encounters happen with year-round regularly. Yap is not a one-hit wonder, however, as more than 30 additional dive sites around the island offer walls, drift dives and frequent encounters with gray, black and white-tip reef sharks on fringing reefs. Other sites offer caverns and canyons covered in large gorgonian and fan corals, and patrolled by varieties of reef fish, eagle rays and schools of tuna and jacks.
Chuuk provides the Pacific's most extensive collection of war wrecks. More than 100 Japanese ships and aircraft lie on the bottom, the victims of concerted bombing raids by US forces. Encrusting corals now cover superstructures in a colorful living blanket in hues from pink and purple to yellow and red, while shadowed cargo holds are still filled with munitions, tanks, motorcycles and other war ordinance. Lagoon waters are warm and generally current-free. Many dive profiles fall within the 80 to 100 foot depth range, with superstructures on favorite wrecks such as the popular Fujikawa Maru rise to depths of less than 30 feet. Other wrecks reach the limits of recreational diving and beyond, allowing those with appropriate experience and training to perform penetration and staged decompression dives. Chuuk's most popular wrecks can be accessed by land-based operations, while several liveaboards also cruise the lagoon. Though wreck diving continues to take center stage at Chuuk, there are miles of rarely visited reefs, and operators offer trips to sites such as Shark Island, where gray reefs and other species gather at cleaning stations.