National Geographic Traveller UK - 01 e 02.2022

PAL AU

GO SHARK DIVING IN THE PACIFIC

Step off the plane at Palau International Airport and the

stamp in your passport will include the Palau Pledge,

which all visitors must sign, promising that ‘the only

footprints I shall leave are those that will wash away’. The

pledge was drafted by and for the children of this remote

western Pacific archipelago to help protect its culture

and environment from the negative impacts of tourism.

Some 80% of Palau’s waters — recognised by National

Geographic’s Pristine Seas project as one of the richest

marine ecosystems on the planet — is preserved as the

Palau National Marine Sanctuary. At 193,000sq miles, the

sanctuary is one of the world’s largest protected marine

areas, safeguarding more than 700 species of coral and

1,300 species of fish.

During the 20th annual Shark Week Palau, from

27 February to 6 March 2022, divers can observe and

participate in citizen science-assisted counts of

numerous shark species. Daily dive sites are chosen for

their abundant sharks and other marine life, including

large aggregations of manta rays and thousands of

spawning fish. Snorkellers can join a February or

November Oceanic Society tour of Palau’s UNESCO

World Heritage-listed Rock Islands Southern Lagoon.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER (INDIA)

LEFT: Scuba diver in Chandelier Cave, Palau
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Adventure

CHANKILLO, PERU

VISIT A NEWLY LISTED UNESCO TREASURE

Six hours north of Lima, in Peru’s largely undiscovered

north, stand 13 time-worn mounds spread across a

hillside like the ridged backbone of a dinosaur. More

than 2,300 years old, these towers form the oldest

astronomical observatory in the Americas. In July 2021,

they were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Thor Heyerdahl mentions them in his classic

travelogue Kon-Tiki, but hypotheses about their use

weren’t formalised until 2007. Located in the Casma-

Sechín river basin, this pre-Incan 300-metre-long chain

of towers allowed the sun-worshipping inhabitants to

observe the sunrise and sunset to plan their planting and

harvesting seasons, as well as religious festivals.

Other attractions in the area include the UNESCO-

listed sites of Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city

in South America, and the Huaca de la Luna (Temple of

the Moon) in the Moche Valley. Also worth a visit are

the pre-Incan settlement of Chavín de Huántar in the

Huayhuash mountain range and Kuélap, a medieval

citadel nicknamed the ‘Machu Picchu of the North’.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER (UK)

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