Palau

The Republic of Palau is famous for its diving, with an abundance of blue holes and WWII wrecks. It's also famous for the fabulous Rock Islands: hundreds of jungle-covered, mushroom-shaped limestone islets filled with abundant wildlife, secluded beaches, and teeming marine life. Among the Rock Islands is Jellyfish Lake, a not-to-be-missed experience. The lake is alive with 21 million stingless jellyfish, and snorkeling among them is like floating in space with aliens. Palau is also home to Babeldaob, Micronesia's second largest island. Only a few thousand people live here, among its enigmatic monoliths, stone footpaths and miles of dirt ...

The Republic of Palau is famous for its diving, with an abundance of blue holes and WWII wrecks. It's also famous for the fabulous Rock Islands: hundreds of jungle-covered, mushroom-shaped limestone islets filled with abundant wildlife, secluded beaches, and teeming marine life. Among the Rock Islands is Jellyfish Lake, a not-to-be-missed experience. The lake is alive with 21 million stingless jellyfish, and snorkeling among them is like floating in space with aliens. Palau is also home to Babeldaob, Micronesia's second largest island. Only a few thousand people live here, among its enigmatic monoliths, stone footpaths and miles of dirt roads. Palau's capital, Koror, is a metropolis in comparison, a multicultural place of 13,000 people. The island of Peleliu, south of Koror, is peaceful, belying its role as host of one of WWII's nastiest Pacific battles. The Peleliu Wall is one of the world's premier dive sites. Southwest of Peleliu, tranquil Angaur offers more good diving. Palau also has far-flung outlying islands — if you want to experience these very traditional locations, prepare well in advance, as transport, usually by state ship, is irregular and erratic.

About the Expert

Simon Sellars is coauthor of or contributor to many Lonely Planet books, including Micronations, South Pacific and Micronesia.