Papua New Guinea is one of the most linguistically and culturally diverse countries on earth. More than 800 languages are spoken here — roughly a tenth of all the world's languages — in a country of fewer than ten million people. Much of the interior remains accessible only by small plane or on foot, and there are communities in the highlands that had no contact with the outside world until the 1930s.
This is not a destination for travelers who want smooth roads and easy logistics. Infrastructure is poor, crime is a genuine concern in Port Moresby and other cities, and tribal violence continues to flare in parts of the Highlands. Medical facilities are limited; if you are seriously ill, you will need evacuation to Australia. Go in knowing this and you will be fine. Many travelers who make the effort to get here come back saying it was the most vivid place they have ever visited.
The rewards are real. The coral reefs off Milne Bay and around New Britain rank among the best diving in the world, full of WWII wrecks, pristine walls, and extraordinary marine life. The Highlands produce some of the finest Arabica coffee you will ever taste and host spectacular sing-sing festivals where hundreds of clans dress in feathers, shells, and body paint and come together to dance. The Sepik River, brown and slow and enormous, is lined with villages where master carvers produce some of the Pacific's most celebrated art.
The country occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and includes hundreds of offshore islands, among them New Britain, New Ireland, Bougainville, and the Trobriand Islands. The Highlands run down the spine of the mainland, rising above 4,500 metres at Mount Wilhelm. The coasts are lower, wetter, and fringed with reefs. Port Moresby, the capital, sits on the southern coast and is everyone's arrival point, though it is not representative of the country at large.
Destinations
- Port Moresby — the capital and main entry point
- Lae — the second city, industrial, on Huon Gulf
- Mount Hagen — Western Highlands city and base for the Mount Hagen Show
- Madang — the prettiest town in PNG, known for diving
- Rabaul — volcanic harbour, WWII history, East New Britain
- Sepik River — river journey, wood carving, remote villages
- Trobriand Islands — islands famous for yam culture and cricket
- New Ireland — quiet island, Malagan art, good diving
- Bougainville — autonomous region with a complex recent history
