Palau is one of the most extraordinary diving spots on this planet. Far to the southwest of Micronesia, Palau consists of an archipelago of 343 islands. Its teeming, untouched reefs offer a wealth of marine life, coral formations and wrecks. Dives begin in knee deep water and plunge straight down to depths of 1000 feet and more. Blue holes, huge caverns and an immense variety of rare and exotic marine species are easily accessible in the pristine water with visibility exceeding 200 feet. Palau's famed "Rock Islands" are a collection of rounded, densely forested isles which seem to float above the surface of the water. A boat trip through them will reveal a number of magnificent secluded white sand beaches, perfect for a private picnic or adventurous overnight stay.

Some of the most famous dive sites include :

Big Drop Off : At this dive site, you can go from standing in knee-deep water to treading in 900 feet of deep ocean with one step. Like a sky divers rush, as you cruise over the vertical wall and drop down, the sense of the vastness of the blue exhilarates you. You don't need to swim as the current gently carries you along past some of the largest sea fans and coral in Palau. The wall is thronging with life. Jacques Cousteau proclaimed it his favourite wall dive in the world. On one side, schools of pyramid butterfly fish enclose you and play in the light, and on the other side is the wall, papered with a stretch of living wallpaper.

Jellyfish Lake : Enclosed in the limestone tunnels and tissues that run through the Eil Malk island like a circulatory system, is a marine lake with an ancient creature whose larva was trapped inside: the jellyfish. The Mastigias species of jellyfish, along with some moon jellies, have lived in this lake for centuries, peacefully following the rise of the sun and descending into the poisonous hydrogen sulfide layer (starting at 60 feet) of their lake at night. Without natural predators, they have lost their weapon of sting for hunting prey, and instead use algae cells inside their clear pink bodies to capture the rays of sunlight and grow their own food. At night, they replenish themselves in the depths of bacteria in the lower layer of their lake. However, at the glistening top of the lake, you can snorkel among these friends and through their stingless swarm. It is like swimming through a cloud of pulsating alien hearts, slimy, soft and delicate. It is a sensory overload and natural high because all you can see, above below and around you, are jellyfish.

Blue Holes : There are three holes in a reef under waist-deep water, fringed with red sea fans and black coral. Gobies act as bashful watch-guards to the entrance. When you descend down into the depths of the hole, after an 80-foot drop, you enter a large underwater cavern. Like a cathedral, streams of light pour into the cavern from the three blue holes. You explore the awe-inspiring cavern. You lie on the floor and watch your bubbles fizzle up to the surface, sparkling in the streaks of turquoise light and seas of dark blue. A large arch marks the exit of the cavern, which spills onto a wall that will drift you along to the Blue Corner and through the carnival of underwater life along the way