Malakal Island
Malakal Island is a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean in the state of Palau. It is connected by a bridge to Koror Island, where the economic center, largest city, and former capital of Palau is located.
General Information
On Malakal Island, temperatures hover around the 27 degrees above zero mark all year round, and heavy rainfall is quite frequent here – especially between June and October.
.The main attraction on Malakal Island is the Micronesian Marine Culture Exhibition Center. There is a museum here, as well as a marine research center, whose mission is to preserve the natural Pacific flora and fauna (the center has gained much notoriety precisely because of its success in cultivating the giant tridacna clam).
.The island was badly damaged in the twentieth century by the Japanese Air Force, which invaded and established its colonial administration, after which it was revived and began to turn into an attractive place for tourists: on an island of one square kilometer is located several docks, shipyards and a hotel, where travelers come for the delightful diving and swimming with dolphins. By the way, the hotel should be booked in advance, because the luxury hotel with a swimming pool, spa center and all sorts of additional services, is very popular. Many tourists visit the island for sea fishing (in local waters there are tuna, marlin, sailfish), kayaking, scuba diving.
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Malakal Hill rises in the center of the island, from the top of which almost all of Rock Island is perfectly visible.
.Malakal can be made a kind of base for exploring the beauty of Palau: to the south is the islet of Eil Malk, covered with tropical thickets, passing through which you can get to the lake of Jellyfish, in which divers love to dive to admire the two million species of jellyfish, which do not sting anyone at all; in addition, you can travel along small picturesque islets with rocks and mangroves, in which you can often find saltwater crocodiles.
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Tourists on Malakal eat mostly at the hotel, but getting out to Koror is worth exploring the indigenous Palauan cuisine, which consists of root vegetables, fish and pork, as well as cassava, taro and yams. As a souvenir, you can bring back wooden handicrafts made by the inmates of the Koror Prison.
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The locals are very friendly and are always ready to help visitors.
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