Papua New Guinea
Travel Guide > Oceania > Papua New Guinea
In this Article
- Introduction
- Brief History
- Geography
- Regions
- Cities
- Sights and Activities
- Events and Festivals
- Weather
- Getting there
- Getting Around
- Red Tape
- Money
- Work
- Study
- Language
- Eat
- Sleep
- Drink
- Health
- Safety
- Keep Connected
Join the Hipporoller Challenge
Help the Travel Guide reach 20,000,000 characters and we'll donate 63 hipporollers worth over $6000. Read more.
Quick Facts
[edit]
- Capital
- Port Moresby
- Population
- 5,296,000
- Government
- Constitutional Monarchy with Parliamentary Democracy
- Religions
- Christianity (Catholic, Protestant)
- Languages
- Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin, English
- Calling Code
- +675
- Nationality
- Papua New Guinean
- Local name
- Papua Niugini
Contributors
Utrecht (53%)
from http://utrecht.travellerspoint.com
Lavafalls (35%)
from Silver Drops Jewelry Designs
as well as Peter (11%), dr.pepper (1%)
Help contribute to this article to share the ad revenue.
Introduction
Papua New Guinea has a remarkably wide appeal, perhaps wider than any other country: its diving rivals the best of the Caribbean; its wild, unobstructed inland wilderness is perfect hiking ground for any intrepid adventurer; ecotourists are astounded by the wealth of plant life, numbered at some 9000 species; bird lovers are equally astounded by the 700 species of birds; and linguists could find no better source of inspiration than Papua New Guinea, a country with more than 750 languages.
Why, then, has Papua New Guinea not rocked to the fore of the tourist world? A bad reputation earned through violent clashes in sun-blessed Bougainville is accented by the rampant crime so prevalant in Port Moresby. Nature hasn't exactly lent its helping hand in recent years either, first burying Rabaul in the volcanic outpourings of Tuvurvur in 1994 and then hitting hard again in 1998 with a triad of hurricanes destroying villages along the north-west coast.
Brief History
Geography
Sights and Activities
Isolated Cultures
Papua New Guinea is one of the most heterogeneous countries in the world. Due to the geography of the island with high isolated mountain valleys led to the formation of hundreds of individually distinct cultures. As an example on this island there are over 820 indigenous languages, representing 12% of the world's total. The only country with a greater density of languages is Vanuatu. In order to see some of these remote peoples takes time and resources and well worth it.
Bird Watching
There is over 781 species of birds on Papua New Guinea that are amazing to spot. The most famous birds in Papua New Guinea are the stunning birds-of-paradise. These birds are known for their striking plumages possessed by the males. In the majority of this species the males have extremely elaborate feathers extending from the tail, wings and even head. The plumes are used to court female that have much more mundane feathers. On top of this many of the males actually build extremely elaborate nests also. Of the 44 species of birds-of-paradise 35 can be found in Papua New Guinea.
Hiking
Dense forests and mountains cover most of Papua New Guinea. The Ekuti Mountain range is one of the most remote places in the world and is truly amazing. These stunning mountains cut through the clouds and slowly descend to the ocean where the woods turn into dense rain forest and jungle. Exploring this country by hiking is very difficult although possible and rewarding.
Surfing
If planned properly surfing can be enjoyed year round in Papua New Guinea. The southern side of island has some great surfing from June to September especially at Hula Beach about 100 km from Port Moresby, Milne Bay, Bougianville and East New Britain. On the north side of the island one can enjoy surfing from mid October to lat April at Madang, Wewak and Kavieng. There is also good consistent waves can be found in Vanimo.
Other Sights and Activities
Events and Festivals
- Hire Moale Festival - Is held in Port Moresby every September and features large boats.
- Mount Hagen Show - Is held annually in August.
- Tumbuna Show - Is held outside of Mt. Hagen in May.
- Goroka Show - Is held every September.
Weather
Most of Papua New Guinea has a hot and humid tropical climate. Average daytime temperatures in the lowlying areas hoover around 30 degrees Celcius during the day and 23 or 24 at night. Temperatures and humidity are about the same in most areas at sea level, including the outer islands. There is however much more variation regarding rain. While Port Moresby, the capital, has a distinct wet season from December to April, some places more to the east like Kieta on Bougainville don't have a wetter (or drier) season. In fact, the driest months here are still wetter than the wettest in Port Moresby and there is almost no variation with 200 to 300 mm each month.
At higher altitudes temperatures can drop significantly and there are often cloudy and rainy conditions throughout the year. There is even a bit of permanent snow on the highest peaks, right at the equator.
Getting there
Plane
Most flights arrive at Jacksons International Airport near the capital Port Moresby. The national airlines is Air Niugini, which has connections to many international destinations including Hongkong, Manila, Tokyo and Singapore in Asia, Sydney, Cairns and Brisbane in Australia and Nadi and Honiara in the Pacific.
From the same Australian cities there are flights to Port Moresby with Qantas as well.
By Boat
If you are coming the Solomon Islands, it is possible to make your way by boat from the Western Province to Bougainville in Papua New Guinea.
Plenty of cargoships, cruiseliners and yachts go to and from Papua New Guinea, but it's a more expensive option compared to getting here by plane.
Getting Around
By Plane
Air Niugini and Airlines PNG operate an extensive network of domestic flights. Destinations include Port Moresby, Lae, Madang and Mount Hagen, as well as some more remote islands.
By Train
There are no trains in Papua New Guinea.
By Car
Apart from some roads around Port Moresby, there is a network of roads connecting the northern coast towns of Madang and Lae with the major urban centres in the Highlands region. However, links between several provinces in the interior are missing and many roads are in bad condition, if they do exist at all. Traffic drives on the left and you can rent cars in several major cities and towns (Avis, Hertz and Budget have offices), although it is not recommended and costs are high. Your national driver's licence will be sufficient. Be careful when you have an accident, as it has happened that relatives of the local victim killed the driver.
By Bus
Public Motor Vehicles (PMV) are your main option if travelling overland between several cities and towns. From Lae, Madang, Goroka and Mount Hagen can easily be reached.
By Boat
Passenger ships, freighters, charters, outboard dingies and canoes all offer links between several ports and islands. It is cheap, though sometimes can be uncomfortable. For example, boats travel between Lae and Madang and are run by Lutheran Shipping with facilities including passenger cabins, accommodation and meals. They also stop in Finschhafen and Umboi Island. On the rivers, you might be able to hire a motorised canoe, but regular passenger services don't exist on rivers.
Red Tape
Citizens of the following countries can get 60-day visa for about $10:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, Sweden, United States and United Kingdom.
Work
Study
Language
Eat
Sleep
Drink
Safety
See also Travel Safety
Port Moresby is not considered a safe city. It is not safe to walk around after dark or explore some of the poorer areas during the day time. There are also several active volcanos on the islands that occasionally have dangerous eruptions. Tropical storms can also cause massive damage to the islands coastline every few years.
This is version 16. Last edited at 13:30 on Sep 21, 09 by Utrecht (+394). 18 articles link to this page.
More about Papua New Guinea on Travellerspoint
Community Activity
Papua New Guinea Accommodation
- Hostels (1)
- Budget Hotels (2)
Except where otherwise noted, content of this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License