The Milky Way Lagoon, as locals call it, is renown as a natural spa treatment. The creamy water gives off a cloudy mystique, its bottom covered not by sand, but by white limestone mud, which gives the water a milky sheen. The mysterious chalky mud makes an excellent rejuvenating facial, and all-over body scrub, and tour guides bring visitors from around the globe to this place in the Rock Islands, a region comprised of mostly uninhabited islands.
Once ensconced in the secluded cove, guides abruptly dive off the boat before anchoring, heading down to the floor of the inlet and returning with huge handfuls of the white mud.
Guides usually playfully slather the pungent mud upon the passengers, which can quickly become a mud fight.
They also pull up buckets of the healing balm, which guests can apply themselves. While relaxing in the sun, the clay dries and the minerals soak in. Once sufficiently dry, literally cracking at the seams, they jump into the milky water, rinse off and can feel the benefits of the natural body scrub.
Travelers sample the white mud of the Milky Way.
There are also traditional spas and treatments offered at three of the top rated resorts on the island, which is tucked in the westernmost corner of Micronesia. Palau is an archipelago of more than 586 islands where about 20,000 people live.