Papua New Guinea

Voted as number 1 diving spot in the world, Papua New Guinea has many breathtakingly beautiful diving sites with rich coral reefs, marine life, and underwater wrecks of ships and aeroplanes from the World War.

The Kokoda Trail is one of the world's great treks, linking the southern and northern coast of Papua New Guinea; it is a challenge to be enjoyed by the fit bushwalker.

Understanding The Geography

Papua New Guinea (PNG), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is occupied by the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Irian Jaya).

It is located in the south-western Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. Its capital, and one of its few major cities, is Port Moresby. It is one of the most diverse countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under 6 million.

Papua New Guinea is mostly mountainous (highest peak: Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 m; 14,793 ft) and mostly covered with rain forest, as well as very large wetland areas surrounding the Sepik River and Fly River.

The country is situated on the Pacific Ring of Fire, at the point of collision of several tectonic plates. There are a number of active volcanoes and eruptions are frequent. Earthquakes are relatively common, sometimes accompanied by tsunamis.

The mainland of the country is the eastern half of New Guinea Island, where the largest towns are also located, including the capital Port Moresby and Lae; other major islands within Papua New Guinea include New Ireland, New Britain, and Bougainville.

Climate Conditions

Papua New Guinea is one of the few regions close to the equator that experience snowfall, which occurs in the most elevated parts of the mainland.

Understanding The Culture

The culture of Papua New Guinea has many-sides and complex. It is estimated that more than a thousand different cultural groups exist in PNG. Because of this diversity, many different styles of cultural expression have emerged; each group has created its own expressive forms in art, dance, weaponry, costumes, singing, music, architecture and much more.