Papua New Guinea shares the island of New Guinea with Indonesia and has more than 600 other tropical islands, the most important of which are New Ireland, New Britain (main islands of the Bismarck Archipelago) and Bougainville Island.
This destination diffuses a strong scent of exoticism as one of the most remote and inaccessible territories of the globe occupied by ethnic groups with a way of life unlike ours.
Have to do :
• Three quarters of the country’s surface area is covered with primary or secondary forest where two thirds of the world’s orchid species live, 9,000 types of plants, 700 groups of birds, 250 styles of frogs, 450 species of butterflies, 200 varieties of reptiles and over a hundred different snakes. You can take a cruise on the Sepik River to admire this diversity and meet the ethnic groups living on its banks. One of its tributaries, the Karawari, and the surrounding Arambak villages, can be explored by canoe.
• If you want to discover the flora of the country without having to mount an expedition, you can visit the National Botanical Garden of Port Moresby, the Variata National Park of Sogeri nearby, the Moitaka Wildlife Sanctuary or the Botanical Garden of the city of Lae .
• The Highlands are the most populated and fertile land in the country. To discover this region, take the road from Lae to reach Kainantu via the Kassim Pass and visit the cultural center of the Eastern Highlands. You will then cross the mountains to Goroka and the village of Asaro, follow the Wahgi Valley up to Mount Hagen and continue to Mendi, Poroma Valley, Tari and Koroba. In this region, do not miss the villages of the Huli and Duna tribes, renowned for their decorations and body paintings, and the sumptuous landscapes that border Lake Kutubu.
• The hiking possibilities are impressive. For example, you can reach the north coast and the south coast by taking the Kokoda Trail or discover the panoramas and traditional villages of Mount Wilhelm. For novice walkers, the Wedau – Alotau coastal walk is enhanced by swimming and jungle trails.
• The beaches of the Gulf of Papua, in the south, are the busiest, but those located around Madang, a pretty coastal town, are also pleasant and offer their coral reef to divers.
• Five active and sixteen extinct or dormant volcanoes make New Britain a very mountainous island. It offers dive sites on its north coast where barracudas, dolphins and sometimes sharks evolve in a setting of gigantic sponges. Near Rabaul, the former capital of the island destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1994, lie Japanese shipwrecks dating from the Second World War and today home to impressive marine fauna.
• New Ireland is very little frequented by tourists although it offers beautiful beaches and very pleasant places to relax such as Kavieng, where you can rent a bicycle, go diving, canoeing, surfing and many other activities.
• The Trobriand Islands are worth a visit for their traditional culture which is still alive. The beauty of the craftsmanship of the inhabitants and the yam festival at the beginning of July will mark the spirit.
