Ulong Channel Dive Site

Site Overview

Ulong Channel, within the Ulong Island & Ulong Channel of Palau, is one of the region's most rewarding dive sites and a highlight of any Micronesian diving trip. One of the planet's great drift dives, a coral corridor thronged with jacks, snappers, and sharks, ending in vast cabbage corals. Geographically the site features channel and wall formations built from coral and rock substrate, dropping from a shallow top of around 5 metres to a maximum depth of about 30 metres, with an average working depth near 12 metres. Visibility is typically excellent, ranging from 20 to 40 metres, while water temperatures hold between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius year-round. The marine life is the headline attraction. Divers routinely encounter Bigeye Trevally (Caranx sexfasciatus), Snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus), Grey Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos), Whitetip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus), Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), alongside dense reef fish, invertebrates, and the soft and hard corals that blanket the reef. The mix of nutrient-rich currents and Palau's protected status makes Ulong Channel one of the most reliable places in the country to see both abundant macro life and large pelagic visitors on a single dive. Ulong Channel is best enjoyed as part of a boat programme out of Koror, and it rewards wide-angle photographers, naturalists, and adrenaline-seeking drift divers alike. The Palau Protected Areas Network helps keep the reef pristine, so divers are asked to maintain perfect buoyancy and respect the fragile coral at all times.