Papua New Guinea: Highlands, History and Hiking

Papua New Guinea offers a wide range of travel experiences: the Kuk Early Agricultural Site connects the western highlands with thousands of years of agricultural history, while trekking and bushwalking range from hikes lasting a few hours to jungle treks of more than eight days. The Kokoda Track, Mount Wilhelm, the National Mask Festival & Warwagira in July and the dish mumu add further, clearly distinct highlights. If you are planning a hotel stay, it can help to decide first what you want to focus on: archaeological history, hiking, mountaineering or culture.

Kuk: Wetland and Agricultural History

The Kuk Early Agricultural Site covers 116 hectares of swamp in the western highlands of New Guinea and lies at an altitude of 1,500 meters above sea level. It preserves evidence of an independent transition to agriculture about 7,000 to 6,400 years ago, based on the vegetative propagation of bananas, taro and yams. This brings a distinctive landscape and a far-reaching chapter in agricultural history together in one place. For travelers interested in archaeology and nature, this combination offers a distinctive focus.

Hiking from Short Walks to Multi-Day Treks

The Kokoda Track is 138 kilometers long and runs from the village of Kokoda through the rugged mountain terrain of the Owen Stanley Ranges to Owers’ Corner. The hike takes eight to ten days. This range is a useful guide for planning your time, but the itinerary is not the same for every hiker. Historically, the track is associated with the 1942 World War II battle between Japanese and Australian forces. It combines a clearly defined multi-day hike with a route of specific historical significance.

Across the country, trekking and bushwalking on trails and along waterways range from hikes lasting a few hours to jungle treks of more than eight days. Short hikes require considerably less time than the eight to ten days on the Kokoda Track; at the same time, the track’s duration overlaps with the range of longer jungle treks. This comparison helps you sort trip ideas by how much time they require: alongside short outings are expeditions that call for many days.

At 4,509 meters high, Mount Wilhelm is a mountaineering destination in Papua New Guinea. It offers a distinct focus alongside multi-day hikes: here, the interest is in a specific mountaineering objective, while those routes involve a long trek. This makes it possible to consider mountaineering and trekking as different focuses for a trip.

Festival and Food Culture

The National Mask Festival & Warwagira takes place in East New Britain in July. If you want to plan your trip around it, check the exact dates and program in advance. This makes it possible to include the festival as a cultural highlight in your travel plans.

Mumu also offers a window into Papua New Guinea’s food culture. The dish is slow-cooked in an earth oven and is still prepared in the country. This cooking method gives the culinary theme a tangible point of reference and complements the topics of landscape, hiking and history with a continuing tradition. If you are interested in food as well as nature and archaeology, mumu is another aspect to consider when exploring Papua New Guinea.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Madang, Rabaul, Pakanakapiaka, Kavieng, Lorengau, Omili, Port Moresby, Kokopo, Kimbe, Tufi, Hewiia, Milne Bay Province, Mount Hagen, Lae, Goroka, Matukar.

For the broader travel overview: Oceania.