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 ADVANCED
LEVEL :: CAVERN DIVE / WALL DIVE / DEEP
DIVE (MINIMUM 100 FEET)
 The
tunnel, one of the most unique dives in Palau, is considered
to be an advanced dive - for two reasons: depth, and the overhead
environment. Situated on the western side of the atoll,
the vertical wall juts out into the Philippine Sea, forming a
pointed corner where a large (50 foot hight) tunnel cuts right
through the wall. The bottom is well below 140+ feet (40+m). Because
of the depth, time in the tunnel is restricted to around 12 minutes,
but getting there and back is exciting in itself.
Dropping
down over the wall, you will enter a horizontal tunnel beginning
at
a depth
of 90
feet
(27m). As
you enter the tunnel, there is a window
on your left looking out to open sea, and the exit is straight
in front of you. White tip sharks can be seen sleeping
on the
sandy bottom, which gets as shallow as 110
feet
(33m) and swirling
schools of bigeye trevally are common here. Inside the
tunnel is home to some of Palau's rarer fish: colin’s
angelfish, decorated dartfish, helfrich’s
dartfish, and burgess’s butterfly fish - all oriented
to the roof of the cave and swimming upside down. This
is one dive where you will definately need to carry a flashlight.
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