Oceania > Papua New Guinea: Weather, Map, Costs and Travel Guide

Nature is the great wealth of this country, and most of your visits will be aimed at discovering the treasures it contains.

A cruise on the Sepik River will allow you to approach the diversity of animals and plants: orchids, frogs, birds, butterflies, reptiles, all are represented by hundreds of different varieties. You can also get to know the ethnic groups who live on the banks of this river and take a canoe trip on the Karawari River to explore the Arambak villages.

The flora can also be found in parks and gardens which are easy to reach: visit the National Botanical Garden of Port Moresby, the capital, or the Sogeri National Park, or the Lae Botanical Garden .

The capital, Port Moresby, offers the traveler a beach and a port, but also a luxuriant vegetation.

Areas not to be missed are the Highlands, which are the most fertile lands, and also the most populous, and where you can stop in Kainantu, before joining Goroka, then Asaro, and follow the valley of the Wahgi towards Mount Hagen, then the Poroma valley; The Gulf of Papua with its beaches, especially the ones of Madang with their barrier of coral which will be much appreciated by the divers; The Kokoda Trail, a hiking trail that connects the north and south coasts through the traditional villages of Mount Wilhelm (4509 meters above sea level); New Britain, an island with many volcanoes, five active, but also diving sites with dolphins, sharks and barracudas; New Ireland, with its beautiful beaches, which is also very little touristy, despite several quasi paradisiacal places.

Finally, do not pass the Trobriand Islands, where the inhabitants keep their traditions very strong and produce a craft of beauty. And do not forget that the wealth of this country is also its amazing culture, where corporeal adornments, songs and dances are the basis of sumptuous rituals to which you can not remain insensitive.

A visa is required to enter the country.

The current currency is the kina.

There are no direct flights from France, you will necessarily pass through Hong Kong, Jakarta, Sidney, or Manila, for example, and land at the Port Moresby International Airport about ten kilometers from the city.

Taxis are available in the capital, but not elsewhere. You can rent a car if the prices do not seem prohibitive, but the number of roads is quite limited because of the relief, and their condition is very bad. The boats transport you easily from one island to another, but it is the plane that is the main means of transport between the regions.

Health: Keep up to date with your traditional vaccines, and add those for typhoid and hepatitis A and B. Get treatment for malaria. Do not drink tap water, peel your fruit and cook your vegetables, protect yourself from mosquitoes.

Security: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is advised against going to the Highlands due to the presence of armed gangs. Also avoid the border area with Indonesia. In the capital, be vigilant, especially at night. In addition, the northwest of the country may be subject to earthquakes and tsunamis.

Shopping: You can bring back as souvenir a craft object, mask, musical instrument, traditional weapon or pottery.