Exploring Palau With Island Trader Vacations

The Rock Islands are located in the southern lagoon of Palau. Palau is an island country that is located in the western Pacific Ocean.  The island is part of the island group of Micronesia that includes 250 islands that is the part of the western chain of the Caroline Islands. The island of Palau share nautical boundaries with Indonesia and the Philippines.

The island of Palau was settled nearly 3,000 years ago with the closely neighboring Philippines and was first visited by the Europeans in the 1900’s when the island was part of the Spanish East Indies. There are roughly 450 islands in the group of Rock Islands that encompass 18 square miles and the top height of any of the islands is almost 670 feet.  The islands are called Chelbachbeb, and they are a grouping of limestone and coral uprisings that are parts of ancient vestiges of coral reefs that viciously surfaced to form the islands.  The islands are primarily uninhabited, but are striking to view as you set out on an exploratory view from a boat. Most of the islands have a mushroom shape, with a smaller base that have become the habitats for many underwater creatures such as sponges, chitins, and snails that live of the algae that grow on the base of the islands. The islands are located in crystal clear turquoise lagoons that are surrounded by coral reefs. The Rock Islands of Palau were named a World Heritage Site in 2012.

Although the Rock Islands are currently uninhabited there have been remains of previous human occupation found.  There have been archeological remains found on three islands, Ngeruktabel, Ngeanges, and Chomedokl. The remains that have been discovered include caves with rock art and burial sites.  It is believed that the islands were occupied by humans around 3,100BC. There are also stone villages located on a few of the islands that date from 950BC-500BC. These islands were abandoned for habitation in the 17^th and 18^th centuries with much of the population moving to the larger island of Palau and other surrounding islands. The Rock Islands of Palau are a popular tourist site for those that are traveling to Palau.