Papua New Guinea Tours & Holidays

The best time to visit PNG is during the dry season when cool breezes and low humidity on the coast make temperatures comfortable. Coastal areas can be very hot and humid during the monsoon and rainfall can be torrential. The highlands are much cooler and have even been known to experience snowfalls.

Papua New Guinea is home to hundreds of tribes – each with its own languages, beliefs, traditions and customs. Cultures vary considerably throughout the island as tribes were isolated from each other for hundreds of years. Locals wear bilas (traditional costumes and body decorations) at sing-sings (festivals) and many tribes still practise traditional ways of life, including initiation ceremonies to welcome young men and women into adulthood.

Learn more about the tribes of PNG

Papua New Guinea is part of a chain of islands stretching between Asia and Australia. It has over 600 islands, the largest of which, Bougainville, shares a border with Indonesia. The islands are notoriously rugged with heavily forested peaks hiding all manner of weird and wonderful flora and fauna.

Papua New Guinean cuisine is largely vegetarian with lots of tropical fruits and starchy root vegetables like sago, taro roots and sweet potato. Seafood, chicken and pork are also popular, though traditionally pork is eaten on special occasions. Below are some traditional foods to try in Papua New Guinea:

1. Sago

Sago is a starch extracted from the sago palm tree. It's one of the most popular foods in Papua New Guinean cuisine and is used for a wide range of sweet and savoury dishes including pancakes and dumplings.

2. Saksak

Saksak is a traditional Papuan dumpling made with sago. The pearls are mixed with mashed bananas and coconut milk and steamed in banana leaves. Sweet, chewy and moreish, saksak makes for a great breakfast or sweet snack.

3. Mumu

Mumu is a traditional Papuan way of cooking in an earth oven. Parcels of vegetables, starches, meat and fruit are wrapped in banana leaves and steamed in a small pit filled with hot coals.

4. Kokoda fish

Kokoda fish is native to Papua New Guinea and Fiji. The fish is traditionally eaten ceviche-style by marinating cubes of raw fish in lime juice, coconut milk, sliced onions and fresh herbs.

5. Chicken pot

Chicken pot is a simple and hearty one-pot dish. It's made by boiling chicken, sweet potatoes, corn, onions and curry powder in a coconut milk-based broth.

Learn more about Papua New Guinean food

Papua New Guinea's diverse, fertile landscapes are home to a variety of wildlife – many of which you have a good chance of spotting when you're hiking. Below are some of the animals you may encounter:

1. Long-beaked echidna

The long-beaked echidna is an interesting critter, and not just because of its protruding schnoz! Looks-wise, this mammal is a mix between a platypus and a hedgehog. It also lays eggs which then hatch in a pouch. Fascinating, huh? Their long beaks have an awesome ability to detect small electric fields created by earthworms and insects that are a staple in their diet.

2. Flying fox

During the day, these guys literally hang out in mangroves, paperbark and bamboo forests to roost in groups that often exceed tens of thousands. Unlike other bat species, they have great eyesight and don't use echolocation to hunt.

3. Raggiana bird of paradise

This beautiful bird is found predominantly on the eastern side of the island. They're known for their stunning plumage – especially the males with their brightly coloured tail feathers, which attract mates during the breeding season.

4. Tree kangaroo

The tree kangaroo is similar to its ground-hopping cousin, except it spends most of its time hanging out in the treetops. They're awesome climbers and have adapted to have smaller legs and stronger forelimbs to ascend trunks and branches. Their diet consists largely of leaves and fresh fruit.

5. Cuscus possum

This nocturnal marsupial is the world's largest possum species and is native to Papua New Guinea and the northernmost tip of Australia. They live in forests at high altitudes of 1200 metres and eat a varied diet of fruits, leaves and the occasional small mammal or egg.

Nowhere does festivals quite like Papua New Guinea. Home to hundreds of tribal groups – each with their own languages, beliefs, customs and traditions – the sing-sings (festivals) here are like nothing you've ever seen before. Here are some of the most famous ones:

1. Sepik Crocodile Festival

The Sepik River is home to some of the world’s biggest fresh and saltwater crocs. Crocodiles are highly symbolic in Sepik culture and this festival is a way to honour the cultural connection to the reptile. Tribes arrive dressed in their best traditional bilas (body decorations) and performers entertain with elaborate dances to the hypnotic beats of kundu drums. You can also meet Sepik men who've had scars cut into their skin to resemble a crocodile’s scales as part of a rite of passage ceremony.

2. The Mask Festival

Every year the many language groups of East New Britain gather to celebrate the Mask Festival. Masks play a significant role in rituals and storytelling and are believed to be symbolic of spirits. Immerse yourself in mask culture and witness a spectacle of song, dance and costume. One of the highlights is the Kinavai opening ceremony where members of the Tolai clan arrive in canoes donning spectacular full-bodied masks to the skin-tingling sound of drums and chanting.

3. The Enga Cultural Festival

The outside world didn’t know about the tribes of the Enga Province until the 1930s, and the Enga Show was started to conserve and uphold the Engans' cultures and customs. Tribes gather in the thousands to chant, sing, dance and take part in centuries-old rituals.

4. Kenu and Kundu Canoe Festival

Canoes and kundu drums are a big part of life for the tribes of the Milne Bay Province, and this festival is a celebration of those things. Tribes come together to take part in a riveting race in traditional wooden canoes to the rhythmic beats of kundu drums – a sight bound to get your heart pumping a few extra beats! There are also art and craft displays and singing and dance performances from various regions.

Learn more about festivals in PNG

Top 5 Kokoda moments in Papua New Guinea

1. Village stays

Days away from the outside world, the villages and villagers along the Kokoda Track have been able to maintain their customs, languages and traditions with little interference from the outside world.

2. Isurava Battlefield

Once a WWII battleground, now a moving memorial. The four pillars encapsulate the battle along Kokoda with the words: ‘Courage, Sacrifice, Mateship and Endurance.’

3. Mt Bellamy

It’s an arduous challenge to get to the track’s highest point, but at 2200m your efforts are rewarded with sprawling views across the Owen Stanley Ranges.

4. Fuzzy Wuzzy Friends

Thousands of Australian soldiers owed their lives to the actions of the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels and they’ve become legendary throughout the country. At Menari, we have the opportunity to meet with one of the remaining angels.

5. The Golden Staircase

The original stairs (built by Aussie soldiers) may no longer exist but the steep hill they climbed lives on!