Held every August (dates vary by year, usually the second week), the Baliem Valley Festival is a multi-day staged event in which Dani villages compete in mock warfare, pig races, spear throwing, traditional dance, and music. It takes place on a flat field outside Wamena.
The festival is the single best opportunity to see Dani culture concentrated in one place, and the only time in the year when full traditional dress — koteka, body paint, feather headdresses — is on widespread public display. Book flights to Wamena and accommodation months in advance.