Sights in Southern Highlands Province
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Tari Basin
The Tari Basin and the Tari Gap are world renowned birding spots, and because the altitude ranges from 1700m to 2800m through a variety of habitats there is a high diversity of species. Tari is a particularly blessed with birds of paradise including the King of Saxony and the Blue bird of paradise. Sir David Attenborough visited the area when making his documentary Attenborough in Paradise (1996) and really put the place on the maps of twitchers.
The best of the birds can be seen between July and October when their plumage is at its zenith.
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Chevron Niugini
The big oil project near Lake Kutubu has changed the Mendi area, and local people are used to dealing with oil workers with fat wallets and expense accounts. Prices asked to cross a bridge or walk across land can be outrageous. Oil began flowing through the pipeline down to the Gulf of Papua in 1992. Chevron Niugini has a good reputation, fulfilling its agreements with the local landowners, the Foi and Fasu people.
There's a road from Mendi to Pimaga and on to Moro and the company headquarters near the northwest end of Lake Kutubu.
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museum
There's a tiny museum in a stockaded compound and most of the items in the small display are for sale. The place is a sort of old mens' home and a couple of older fellows show you around and accept your donation. The covered structure in the compound is the grave of a former provincial premier, and you'll see similar (but usually smaller) structures all around the Tari area.
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skull caves
It is possible to visit the skull caves of Bebere and Kosame, where traditional burial rites are still observed. Custom dictates that the bodies of dead relatives are placed into the hull of a canoe and interred in a cave until the flesh has rotted from the bones. The skeletons are then removed, cleaned and displayed on the walls of the caves.
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Birding tours
Birding tours take in the Tari Gap from the road and a few trails in the rainforest. Depending on which trees you visit, local landowners will expect compensation per site. Ambua Lodge and Warili Lodge run tours into the surrounding countryside, although Ambua does not really cater to casual drop-ins.
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Lake Kutubu
Kutubu is the Highlands' second-largest lake, and, at 800m above sea level, PNG's highest substantial body of water (although the Mt Wilhelm crater lakes are higher). It has a remarkable level of fish endemicity - 10 of the 14 species of fish are found only in this lake.
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