Blue Corner Palau Diving Guide

Blue Corner Palau is one of the most famous dives on the planet: a reef plateau on the edge of the open Pacific where, when the current runs, sharks, Napoleon wrasse and huge schools of fish gather in front of you. Here's how the dive works and how to do it well.

Where Blue Corner is

Blue Corner sits on the southwestern outer reef of Palau, roughly 40 to 60 minutes by speedboat from Koror through the Rock Islands, depending on the boat and the sea. The reef here forms a point that sticks out into deep water. Its top is a broad plateau at recreational depth, and its sides fall away as steep walls. Tidal currents sweep along the walls and across the point, and that moving water is what brings the fish.

The Blue Holes, four openings in the reef top that lead into a big cavern, are right next door. Many boats dive them together: down through the holes, out through a window in the wall and along the wall to Blue Corner.

How the dive works

Your guide plans the dive around the tide, because the current decides which side of the corner you start on and where the action will be. A typical Blue Corner dive goes like this:

1. You descend onto the wall, with the current behind or beside you, and work along it with the reef close by.
2. At the edge of the plateau, where the current hits the point, you find a patch of bare, dead rock and set your reef hook.
3. You add a little air to your BCD, float above the reef on the hook line and watch. Grey reef sharks and whitetips patrol the edge, Napoleon wrasse come close, and schools of barracuda, jacks and snappers hang in the blue.
4. When your guide signals, you unhook and drift back across the plateau, often past turtles and anemones, to make your safety stop in open water.

The current can be mild, strong or change direction mid-dive. On some days it splits, sending water up or down the wall. How to handle a down-current depends on the site and its strength, so follow the dive briefing and your guide, watch your depth and air, and if you're caught, move horizontally out of the flow rather than only fighting upward. Carry a surface marker buoy and an audible signal in case you're separated.

Using a reef hook properly

A reef hook is a blunt metal hook on a short line, clipped to your BCD. It lets you stay in one spot in the current without grabbing the reef. Many Palau operators expect you to have one, and some rent or sell them.

• Hook only onto bare, dead rock. Never onto living coral, sea fans or sponges.
• Clip the line to a sturdy D-ring on your BCD, not to a gauge or hose.
• Once hooked, add a little air so you float above the reef instead of lying on it.
• To unhook, swim up into the current a little to take the tension off the line, then release.
• If you've never used one, ask your guide to show you on the boat, and practise on an easier site first.

What you can see

Blue Corner is all about the big animals and the sheer number of fish. Grey reef sharks and whitetip reef sharks are the stars, and they're seen on most dives when the current is running. Napoleon wrasse, some of them huge, often swim right up to divers. Expect schools of barracuda, bigeye trevally and snappers, plus turtles, eagle rays and the occasional manta passing by. On the plateau itself look for anemonefish, triggerfish and moray eels. Palau created the world's first national shark sanctuary in 2009, banning commercial shark fishing in its waters, and reef sharks are now Blue Corner's signature sight.

Who Blue Corner suits

Blue Corner is a current dive on the outer reef, so it's best suited to divers who are comfortable with drift diving, good buoyancy and depth control. Many operators prefer you to have an advanced certification or recent experience. If you're new, start with gentler sites such as Big Drop-Off or German Channel and work up to it. The full list of Palau dive sites shows how the other dives compare.

Seas on the outer reef are usually at their calmest in the drier months. See the best time to dive Palau for what to expect month by month.