Top things to do

Milamala celebrates a bountiful crop of yams, harvested between June and August. Festivities culminate in a week of canoe racing, cricket matches, ribald dancing and free love. Before you get excited, note that visi…

This superb museum, beautifully remodelled for the country's 40th anniversary of independence, is the best introduction you can get to Papua New Guinea's rich indigenous culture. Subtly lit exhibits are divided by t…

The Goroka Show is held over the Independence Day weekend (mid-September) at the National Sports Institute’s Sports Oval. It attracts more singsing (celebratory dance/festival) groups than the Mt Hagen show and ther…

Right after the small store at Laloki River Gorge is the turn-off to Varirata National Park which, at 1000 hectares and over 800m high, is the highlight of the Sogeri Rd. It's 8km from the turn-off and you'll find s…

Ralf's house, on a 400m ridge overlooking the coast at Tower (a radio mast), 15km inland from Wewak, overflows with Sepik carvings, collected over a lifetime from 50 different villages. Even if you don’t buy somethi…

Asaro village, northwest of Goroka, is famous for its mudmen – warriors who traditionally covered themselves in grey mud and wore huge mud masks before heading off on raids. It’s a very striking image, best witnesse…

At the northern end of Waigani Dr, by the University of Papua New Guinea, this is an island of calm. More than 2km of walkways thread under and through the jungle canopy, with well-maintained gardens displaying both…

Raising Moresby's cafe culture to international levels by its very existence, Duffy's wouldn't look out of place in any Western capital. The decor? Three Cs: Cosmopolitan, cool, contemporary. The clientele? Laptop-t…

One of Moresby’s best restaurants is an elegant, well-dressed, yet somewhat old-fashioned affair inside the Crowne Plaza. The dishes are cutting-edge, though. We particularly like their tasting plates – one-spoon bi…

Run by local carver and artist Ronnie, this riverfront store in the first (easternmost) village has the best concentration of artefacts on the Sepik, from Tanbanum masks and Minimbit guardian carvings to locally mad…