Top Things to Do in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea sits at a crossroads that refuses tidy labels. The country occupies the eastern half of the world's second-largest island, and its geography alone explains why explorers still use that word without irony here: more than 800 languages spoken, volcanoes rising from coastal lowlands, rainforests so dense that new species of birds and frogs are catalogued annually. Arriving in Port Moresby, travelers smell diesel and salt air off the Coral Sea simultaneously. The city's noise, motorcycle taxis roaring, vendors calling out in Tok Pisin, the thwack of a market machete on taro root, announces that Papua New Guinea operates on its own register. It is uninterested in approximating anywhere else on earth. First-time visitors do well to drop assumptions borrowed from neighboring Southeast Asia. Papua New Guinea is not a beach-resort destination in the conventional sense, though its coastline along the Bismarck Sea holds some of the finest coral diving in the Pacific. The deepest attractions require physical commitment. Trek muddy ridgelines at dawn. Crouch in a dugout canoe. Sit quietly in a village guesthouse while rain hammers corrugated iron overhead. What Papua New Guinea offers in return is the sensation, cool highland air sharp in the lungs, the distant echo of sing-sing drums, the iridescent flash of a bird-of-great destination overhead, that you have arrived somewhere apart. Safety is a practical concern worth framing honestly. Port Moresby has real urban crime. Staying with a guide in the city and traveling in organized groups in highland regions remains sound. The Kokoda Track operates under a well-organized trekking permit system with licensed guides. Thousands of visitors complete it safely each year. Beyond the capital, the pace slows. Community structures are tight. The warmth extended to respectful visitors is something travelers remember long after they have forgotten more comfortable trips to more predictable places.