A majestic land like no other

Thriving tribal cultures, smoldering volcanoes, pristine mountainous forests and teeming oceans.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is probably the most culturally diverse, colourful and extreme country in the world, and one of the world’s last great frontiers that remains largely untouched by mass tourism. Jagged peaks run down the length of the country, and its lush landscape is dotted with sparkling clear ocean and beaches, meandering jungle rivers and lakes, and thundering waterfalls tucked deep inside wild rain-forests.

New experience for staff

Staff Travel Voyage now offer industry employees the rare opportunity to see this fascinating destination first hand. Choose from remote rainforest and coastal lodges, each with special private tour programs, or our 6 & 7 night extensive tour experience packages. Our specialist agent in PNG Trans Niugini Tours will look after you every step of the way and are the most established and professional tourism company in the country with over 35 year international experience. The best and only way for staff to visits and experience PNG!  

The Price

PNG has always been, and remains an extremely expensive destination with holidays traditionally costing $5-10,000 dollars per person! STV have however teamed up with Nuigini Tours and managed to put together very special industry staff rates to enable you to see this wonderful country yourself up and close and first hand. Whilst very heavily discounted they may still not seem 'cheap', but this will be a trip you will remember forever. See it while you can!  

Explore

Travelling around Papua New Guinea is a remarkable experience and can also be challenging! paved roads are few, infrastructure is extremely limited (the capital, Port Moresby, has no roads connecting it to any other towns on the mainland) and getting around generally means flying, either by domestic scheduled flights with Air Niugini or in small planes over high mountain peaks! However, those who crave the adventure of truly intrepid travel will be rewarded with the opportunity to scale 4,000-metre summits, surf big waves off largely empty beaches, or explore little-known dive sites. Diverse, colourful and extreme, this is an island nation like no other.
Visiting Papua New Guinea isn’t just memorable, it really is the trip of a lifetime.

Travelling through this rugged country also offers countless opportunities to interact with Papuans, from staying in rainforest villages to witnessing a “sing-sing” (a traditional folklore festival), colourful displays in which tribal groups  wear elaborate headdresses and chant to the rhythmic pounding of drums.

History

Human remains that date back to about 50,000 years ago have been found in Papua New Guinea. These ancient inhabitants of PNG are likely to have origins from Southeast Asia, who actually are thought to have originated from Africa 50,000 to 70,000 years ago. New Guinea (as it used to be known), is one of the first landmasses after Africa and Eurasia to be populated by modern humans, with the first migrants settling there at about the same time as Australia. Agriculture was independently developed in the New Guinea highlands around 7,000 BC, making it one of the few areas of original plant domestication in the world!

A major migration of Austronesia speaking people came to coastal regions roughly 2,500 years ago, along with the introduction of pottery, pig farming, and certain fishing techniques. In the past, headhunting and cannibalism occurred in many parts of what is now named Papua New Guinea. By the early 1950s, through administration and mission pressures, open cannibalism had almost entirely ceased. The history of Papua New Guinea in the last two centuries was quite troublesome as different European navigators “discovered” the island of Papua, namely Portuguese and Spanish, and later German and British ventured there to conquer the unexplored new land.

People & Culture 

The people of Papua New Guinea are largely descendants of the Papuan-Melanesians who originate from various island countries including Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Today there over seven million people living in Papua New Guinea, of which more than a third live in the rugged Highlands. The traditional Melanesian cultures are kept alive through elaborate rituals that accompany deaths, feasts, marriages, compensation ceremonies and initiation rites. 

Variations in village construction, dialect and dress are common in country areas while annual Sing Sing shows, part of the Papua New Guinea Cultural Events Calendar, see villagers from around the country demonstrate their singing, dancing and elaborate bilas (traditional costumes). The shows at Goroka and Mount Hagen are among the country's most impressive, attracting thousands of spectators to Papua New Guinea each year. There are more than 800 local languages in addition to many minor dialects which make up the surprising one third of the world's indigenous tongues approximately. Pidgin (Tok Pisin) is common to most local people, and learning a few words can come in handy, especially when travelling in more remote areas.

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