Big Drop-Off

Rock Islands, Ngemelis, Palau, Palauwall50 m maxbeginner

Conditions & tides

Channel site — tidal current funnels through here and can run fast, changing quickly with the tide. It is usually strongest around mid-tide and eases near the slack windows below. Dive with a local operator who knows the timing.

Big Drop-OffNgemelis · 50 m

Fair · 4/5

conditions visualisation

Fair4/5

Some chop right now — best window today 6 AM–4 PM.

Wind12 kn SW

Current~0.6 kn ESE · model

Swell

0.5 m · 7s · N

Water

29 °C

Conditions through the day

5 AM5 PM

Calmest current near slack — 11:30 AM & 11:45 PM local

Sunrise 05:51 AM · Sunset 05:57 PM local

Show details

Tide · local

Outlook — select a day for full conditions

On-face swell 0.7 m — the component of the swell aimed at this site’s exposed face. Strong-current reef: plan a drift and enter near the slack windows above. Current is a regional model value (Copernicus, ~9 km grid) — a guide to the area, not a precise reef measurement. Imagery © Esri · not depth or visibility.

Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model

Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.

Dived here today? How were conditions vs. what we showed?

About this site

The Big Drop-Off sits along the Ngemelis reef in Palau's Rock Islands, where the reef shelf ends abruptly and drops in a sheer wall from just a few metres down into water reaching around 50 metres. It is known as one of Palau's classic wall dives, with a shallow coral shelf giving way to a vertical face decorated with soft corals and gorgonian fans. Divers have reported anthias, butterflyfish, clownfish, damselfish, sea turtles, and trevally along the wall. The site is generally rated a beginner dive, with the top of the wall starting shallow enough to let divers stay well up on the face while still taking in the drop-off.

AI overview