Pacific Island Wonders - Palau
Prepare to see some of the most intense blue and green colours your eyes have ever feasted on in this post! The unknown Republic of Palau in the Pacific about 700km eastwards from the coast of the Philippines is truly home to some of the most beautiful island formations I’ve ever seen, but it also has an interesting colonial history and a few obscure sights - read on!
Start here - a short clip of some of the most beautiful locations of the Rock Islands in the southern lagoon of the country , starting with the nature reserve of Ngerukewid… more on that below!
What I came for
My hero shot, and what I wanted to document during this trip: The incredible islands of Ngerukewid are definitely one of the most beautiful island formations I’ve ever seen and have been declared a nature reserve as far back as 1956, owing to their amazing biodiversity.
The southern lagoon is full of amazing places, often best seen from the air. Virtually unpopulated, the whole 42 sqkm site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
Underwater Wonders
Of course, an ocean paradise like this offers a whole different view when looking underwater - which admittedly wasn’t such a big focus for me on this trip (I have yet to do my PADI, but on the other hand I finally got an underwater camera case - these photos are shot on iPhone though). Nevertheless, some snorkeling is always on the cards.
Blacktip reef sharks frequent some of the beach areas in the rock lagoon, allowing you to swim among them. A school of fish found some shelter below our boat, letting me capture these photos.
Lunch spot
This wreck was just a few meters from a small beach where we had our lunch that day - with the backdrop of this beautiful tree slowly shedding some of its orange leaves, creating a beautiful kaleidoscope of colours.
More evidence of the fierce battles that took place here in form of a sunken transport ship, and cannons that were abandoned in small limestone caves on the lagoon entrances. The largest battle that took place here was the US - Japan encounters on Peleliu, which reshaped the geography of the island significantly.
Back on Land
Palau does have more to offer than its oceanic beauty - the country consists of over 300 islands, while its population of less than 20,000 (!) lives spread out on just a few of them. Koror is the largest city and used to be the capital until 2006, when it was replaced by Ngerulmud on the largest island of Babeldaob in a somewhat odd government plan - more on that below.
While the last few hundred years of the country have been shaped by Spanish, German, Japanese, and then US colonialism and influences, traces of the native population go back much further than that, and some of it is preserved around the main island of Babeldaob. The most significant evidence dates back over 2000 years ago in form of the Stone Monoliths of Ngarchelong, a collection of stones in the north of the island, not far from the shoreline.
Airai is also home to the oldest Bai ai in Palau, which is still maintained and in use by the local villages, seen on the left here. The right one is located at (interesting) Belau National Museum (Belau is the historic name of the country). Although the Bai is a meeting place for men, Palau’s culture is highly dominated by matrilineal tendencies, evident in practices such as inheritance.
Although there remains a traditional government structure that still influences the country's affairs through its federation of clans, Palau today has a federal government structure that takes the form of a democratic republic. It’s an independent country, but still holds close ties to the US, which provides funding and military support in exchange for its own military rights. The US dollar is the country’s currency and English is widely spoken, although there are still Palauan and other official traditional languages, even Japanese remains an official language in one of the districts.
On the way to Airai lies this abandoned World War II Japanese Communications Center. While there’s a small signboard outside (and an entrance fee to be paid), it is more suitable for an abandoned places exploration than a tourist attraction, offering a few cannons and not much in terms of narrative, but a good chance of getting buried under a crumbling ceiling.
Capital Strangeness
While Koror is the commercial centre (and deserves to be called a city), Palau’s capital Ngerulmud is anything but that - in fact, it is the least-populous capital city of a sovereign nation in the world. Arguably, not one person actually lives in the city boundaries, although the surrounding state is home to a total of just over 300 people. It was created on the basis of the constitution established in 1979, which called for a capital to be established on the main island to avoid concentration of power in Koror. That took way longer than outlined in the constitution, and finally was completed in 2006 at a cost of $45m, through the help of a $20m loan by the Taiwanese government. Brace yourself for what these funds were used for, keeping in mind that the whole country has a population of less than 20,000…
The parliament is called Olbiil Era Kelulau, which means “House of Whispered Decisions.” It derives from the aforementioned Bais, where the traditional chiefs met to discuss critical topics. During those meetings, no communication that is louder than a whisper is permitted, instead quiet messages are used to negotiate on important topics. Smart approach, although I don’t know if congress functions the same.
The building is in fact not made of massive stone and concrete - it’s publicly accessible and you can walk around in many of the buildings, where I noticed a lot of hollow walls and pillars. It’s also not really suitable for the local tropical climate, mould and ventilation issues have been plaguing it since opening.
Palau’s environmental governance is extremely strong, it created the world’s first shark sanctuary, and makes visitors sign a “pledge” into the passport stamp upon arrival, vowing to protect the environment during their time in the country. It shows - the beaches and rock island areas are one of the least polluted ocean patches I’ve ever seen. Some top down photos from my flight, showcasing the incredible green and blue hues that make up most of the landscape in the country.
A different kind of galaxy
The turquoise waters above show another one of Palau’s attractions: the so-called Milky Way lagoon. It’s a shallow lagoon where limestone mud has settled on the ground, which can be retrieved with a small dive. The locals use this paste for skincare.
More images of the underwater world, taken on iPhone while snorkeling among some of the reefs in the rock lagoon during a kayak trip.
One of the many limestone caves that get carved into the rock formations.
Also came across this incredibly tiny jellyfish, the species of which I cannot determine, with an even tinier fish companion.