Palau

Palau was settled thousands of years ago by seafarers from island Southeast Asia. Its people developed a society based on matrilineal clans and village councils, with distinctive meeting houses called bai. Islanders fro…

Ngardmau is one of the sixteen states of Palau and lies on the western side of Babeldaob, between Ngaraard and Ngeremlengui. Its stretch of coast and the forested, hilly interior behind it have long shaped how people li…

Ngarchelong occupies the northern tip of Babeldaob, the largest island of Palau, and is the northernmost state on that island; only Kayangel lies farther north. Its position at the end of the land, where the island give…

Kayangel lies some 86 kilometres north of Koror, the northernmost state of Palau, a small atoll of about 1.4 square kilometres with the single hamlet of Orukei, and a population of 54 at the 2015 census. Like the rest o…

The first sighting of Angaur recorded by Westerners came at the end of January 1543, when the Spanish expedition of Ruy López de Villalobos charted the islands as Los Arrecifes, the reefs; further Spanish expeditions fo…

The first recorded European sighting of Sonsorol and Fanna was made on 6 May 1522 by the Spanish ship Trinidad, then commanded by Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa, which charted them as the San Juan Islands after the feast day…

Hatohobei, also known as Tobi, is the southernmost of Palau's sixteen states, made up of Tobi Island and the great atoll of Helen Reef, with a total land area of only about 0.88 square kilometres. Its population was 25 …

Ngaraard tells its past in four eras, from the Spanish period through the German and Japanese administrations to the time after the Second World War. Oral history recalls a priest, Father Luis, who lived at Elab during …

Ngiwal is one of the sixteen states of Palau, covering some 26 square kilometres on the east side of Babeldaob, with a population of 282 recorded in the 2015 census. Like its neighbours, it faces the reef and the open P…

Melekeok, on the central east coast of Babeldaob, is the state where Ngerulmud, the seat of the national government, is located. Its landscape is unusually varied for a small state: long beaches, hills and steep ridges,…

The terraces in the village of Ngerngesang are among the archaeological sites that give Ngchesar its long perspective: radiocarbon dating places them between 491 and 1150 AD, evidence of communities who shaped these hil…

Airai lies on the southern coast of Babeldaob and serves as the country's main point of arrival: Roman Tmetuchl International Airport is here, and the Koror–Babeldaob Bridge links the state to Koror Island just across t…

Aimeliik is counted among the most ancient villages of Palau and is best known for its hillside terraces and its bai, and for Malsol's Tomb, the place where tradition holds that the warrior Malsol is buried. At least se…

Ngatpang covers around 47 square kilometres on the western side of Babeldaob, Palau's largest island, facing onto Ngeremeduu Bay, the country's largest estuary system of mangroves and river mouths. Within the state lies…

Ngeremlengui lies on the western side of Babeldaob, just west of the seat of government in Melekeok state. Among Palau's sixteen states it has the lowest population density, with 349 residents recorded in the 2020 censu…

In Palauan oral tradition Koror is one of the children of Milad, which gives it an important place in customary belief, and it is home to the clan of the Ibedul, a high chief of Palau. Its traditional villages spread ac…

Peleliu is remembered worldwide for the Battle of Peleliu, one of the hardest-fought engagements of the Second World War in the Pacific, which left deep traces on the island and its people. Long before that, Peleliu was…

The state was colonized by Spain from the late 16th century until 1899, when the territory was sold to the German Empire. German control lasted until the First World War, after which Japan administered the atolls. Fol…

Kayangel (Ngcheangel) is the northernmost state of Palau 86 km (53 mi) north of Koror. The land area is about 1.4 km2 (0.54 sq mi). The population is 54 (2015 census). There is one hamlet in the state - Orukei, which is…

Angaur was traditionally divided among some eight clans. Traditional features within clan areas represent important symbols giving identity to families, clans and regions. These features include a variety of stone platf…