!!!The Temple of Doom, Palau

by Oleg Gaponyuk,
member of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

16 April 2021

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

The mysterious and remote archipelago of Palau is full of stunning
scenery, both landscapes and underwater scenes. Jellyfish and corals,
reefs and caves: it seems that nature has gathered in one place
everything that can bring life to an ocean, mixed together and poured it
out in an unusual combination. We have recently shown you the amazing
Jellyfish Lake. After that we also briefly visited the reef of Blue
Holes: it is the spot consisting of four vertical wells about 10 meters
in diameter. At the depth of 20 meters, they merge into one spacious
cave, having only two exits. And it is the place where the ominous
Temple of Doom is hidden! Last time we just mentioned it, but now we
will take a deep dive into this cave!

[{Image src='01_Palau.jpg' caption='The Temple of Doom, Palau\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='594'}]

At first glance, the Temple of Doom is a small and inconspicuous cave.
It is quite easy to get in here: a narrow entrance with a diameter of
about one and a half meters, the so-called "seventh", an additional hole
in a complex structure of the Blue Holes reef, is located at a depth of
about 25 meters. If you rise from the bottom, you need to focus on the
northern part of the main hall.

That's how the main entrance to the Temple of Domm looks like:

[{Image src='02_Palau.jpg' caption='Main entrance to the The Temple of Doom, Palau\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

[{Image src='03_Palau.jpg' caption='Main entrance to the The Temple of Doom, Palau\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

A few meters to the left of the main entrance, there is another
additional gap that the most curious and adventure-seeking divers can
squeeze into. But you should better use this gap not for entering, but
on the way back as an exit since it will be clearly visible out of the
darkness against the light. In case you try to enter through it, you
will have to squeeze from the bright hall of the Blue Hole into the
frightening darkness of the cave, which can be psychologically more
difficult.

The route to the Temple of Doom is considered difficult and is not
recommended for divers without experience. According to some reports,
three Japanese divers once died here, and perhaps that's when the
unofficial name was given to this small cave. Some people also call it
the Death Hole. For whatever reason, but now only certified divers with
special equipment and the "Cave Diver" level are allowed to swim here.

The popularity and closed nature of such places is the best
advertisement! And so, not properly trained divers are also eager to
explore the legendary cave. For them, it is only possible with the
escort of qualified guides who are ready to take full responsibility.
But for us, there is no danger at all: the AirPano virtual tour allows
you to visit these gloomy places without risking your life!

We descend to the Temple through that very "seventh hole" and squeeze
into the passage through the coral clumps surrounding us. The horizontal
relief suddenly changes to a steep vertical drop. A beam of light from
the lantern hardly breaks through the complete darkness, and suddenly,
this black silence is interrupted by some kind of movement. Something
flies by and right above your head, making you shudder, and it is not
immediately clear that these are just harmless and living inhabitants of
the depths. There are no corals here, but cranks, stingrays, humphead
wrasses, lionfish, and other exotic tropical fish happen to swim here.
It's okay, except that at first glance the cave looks uninhabited, and
you don't expect to find any activity in it.

The Temple of Doom is a large hall measuring a few dozen meters in
diameter. The upper part, the ceiling, is at a depth of about 20 meters,
and the floor is at a depth of 35-40 meters. In different places, there
are small branches with small caves and niches inside them. The exit
from the Temple of Doom is not visible from the main hall: it is hidden
by a vertical drop that can confuse inexperienced divers. But if you
hang a couple of lanterns along the way, it will be easier to navigate.

On a plate at the far end of the Temple of Doom, there is a
well-preserved skeleton of a large turtle. It serves as a kind of a
memorial that warns all curious people against the desire to disturb the
peace of the dead. It remains a mystery whether the animals came to this
place to die of their own free will, or passed away without air, unable
to find a way out...

[{Image src='04_Palau.jpg' caption='The skeleton of a large turtle. The Temple of Doom, Palau\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

At the main entrance of the Temple of Doom, there is a rope stretching
inside: it does not lead to the skeleton of a turtle, but to the deepest
part of the cave. And therefore the path along the rope is not of great
interest for divers, at least on the first visit.

If you spend more time here, you will be able to find the remains of
several other turtles in different corners of the cave, which are worse
preserved and look just like heaps of bones.

However, our oxygen supplies are already running out, and it's time to
go back. This is how the exit from the Temple of Doom looks like,
leading divers to the bottom of the Blue Holes reef.

[{Image src='05_Palau.jpg' caption='Exit from the The Temple of Doom, Palau\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='611'}]

[{Image src='06_Palau.jpg' caption='Exit from the The Temple of Doom, Palau\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='600'}]

In this dive, we were accompanied by an experienced guide
[Fabio Esposito|https://www.facebook.com/fabio.esposito.77920]
and returned to the safer areas of the Blue Holes without a single
incident. And so, now you can safely enjoy this journey with AirPano
panoramas!

The first panorama of this virtual tour is the spherical image with a
turtle skeleton; this is the main goal of everyone who has chosen to
dive into the Temple of Doom. Next, we show how to consistently get from
the surface of the water to the skeleton of a large turtle. First, you
will see an impressive bird's eye view of the Blue Holes, then you will
dive into the Blue Holes reef itself. Afterwards, you will get to the
entrance to the Temple of Doom and then finally, travel through the cave
to the turtle.

\\ \\
[7 panoramas of 360° panoramas of Tempel of Doom|Geography/Australia/Palau/Pictures/Temple_of_Doom]

[{SET customtitle='360° panoramas of Tempel of Doom (AP)'}]











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