11-Day PNG Highlands & Sepik River Tour: Tribal Culture, Crocodile Men & Spirit Houses

Duration: 11 Days | 10 Nights
Destination: Papua New Guinea Highlands

Start & End: Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby (POM)
Group Option: Available from 3-12 persons. Contact us for pricing

 

Combine the cultural Highlands with the wild, remote Sepik River on a fully escorted 11-day Papua New Guinea adventure designed for travellers from Australia and New Zealand. Built around exceptional human encounters rather than sightseeing alone, this itinerary takes you from the mystical Asaro Mudmen and the Moko Moko dance, through the sing sings of the Melpa people and the courtship ceremonies of the Simbu Highlands, before venturing into the basin of the mighty Sepik River — home to the legendary “Crocodile Men” of the Iatmul, towering Spirit Houses and some of the most striking tribal art on earth.

Comfort along the Sepik is basic by design — the price of an extraordinary, untouched culture and pristine natural environment. For travellers who want adventure in its purest form, the rewards are immense. Throughout, an English-speaking specialist guide handles every detail of the logistics, leaving you free to immerse in the people, rituals and landscapes of one of the world’s last great cultural frontiers.

Day 1: Port Moresby to Goroka

On arrival into Port Moresby’s Jacksons International Airport, you are met and transferred to the domestic terminal for your connecting flight to Goroka, the gateway to the PNG Highlands. Your Highlands team welcomes you on arrival. The afternoon is spent exploring the Goroka Museum, a local coffee factory, and the colourful fruit and vegetable market, before checking in to your hotel.

Accommodation: Pacific Garden Hotel

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

 

Day 2: Goroka — Asaro Mudmen and Moko Moko Dance

After breakfast, travel out to an Asaro tribal village to witness the famous Asaro Mudmen performance and the striking moko moko dance. Continuing into Simbu Province, you cross the Daulo Pass — one of the most dramatic mountain views in the country — and arrive at Kagai, a hillside village home to the Kuman tribe.

Lunch is served looking out over the surrounding peaks. Spend the afternoon exploring village life, the local flower garden and a beautiful lookout. In the evening, your hosts share a home-cooked dinner and an intimate traditional courtship ceremony at the guesthouse. Comfort is basic, but the atmosphere is unforgettable.

Accommodation: Kagai Guesthouse

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Transfer: 2.5 hours’ drive to Kagai

 

Day 3: Kagai Sing Sing — Mount Hagen

The morning is spent with the women of Kagai village as they prepare in front of you for their traditional dances — a warm and laughter-filled cultural encounter. Continuing along the Highlands Highway, you stop at Mindima village to witness the famous “skeleton” theatre play, before descending through the Waghi Valley to Mt Hagen and your hotel.

Accommodation: McRoyal Hotel — Premier King

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Transfer: Kagai to Mt Hagen: 2.5 hours by private bus

 

Day 4: Mount Hagen — Melpa Village and Kumul Lodge

After breakfast, visit a Melpa village in the Nebilyer Valley, where the dominant tribe of the area will perform their sing sing in full traditional bilas (adornments). Tour in and around the village to learn about daily Highlands life.

Continue up to Kumul Lodge — internationally renowned for spectacular Bird of Paradise viewing from its feeders, with a number of other endemic species also frequenting the property. In the afternoon, a short walk through the bush takes you to a beautiful orchid garden. Overnight at this community-run eco-lodge.

Accommodation: Kumul Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Transfer: 45 minutes by bus to the Melpa village

 

Day 5: Huli Wigmen and Mount Hagen to Wewak

After one last morning at the Kumul Lodge feeders, return down to the Mt Hagen surrounds and spend several hours with a Huli Wigmen community. Originally from Hela Province around Tari, this clan migrated to Hagen generations ago to escape tribal conflict and has kept its remarkable traditional culture very much alive.

Return to Mt Hagen in time to check in for your afternoon flight to Wewak, on PNG’s north coast. Your team meets you at the airport and transfers you to the beautiful Boutique Hotel.

Accommodation: Boutique Hotel, Wewak

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 

Day 6: Wewak to the Sepik River

An early departure for the four-and-a-half-hour drive to Pagwi on the Sepik River. At Pagwi, board a motorised dugout canoe — fitted with cane chairs and pillows — and travel two hours downriver to Kanganamun, in the heart of the culturally rich Middle Sepik.

This is the territory of the famous “Crocodile Men” of the Iatmul, ritually scarified during their rite-of-passage initiations to resemble the crocodile. Tour the village and its monumental Spirit House — a true cathedral of primitive art and culture — before continuing on the river to your Sepik Guesthouse, where the essentials for a comfortable rest are well taken care of.

Accommodation: Sepik Guesthouse

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Transfer: Wewak to Pagwi: 4.5 hours by private bus/car; Pagwi to Sepik Guesthouse: 2.5 hours by motorised canoe (traditional dugout with cane chairs and pillows)

 

Day 7: Explore the Middle Sepik

Begin the day at Kanganamun’s main Spirit House — the oldest in the Sepik, with some posts said to be more than a century old. Witness a masked dance inside this “cathedral of tribal arts”, then take a short canoe trip and walk to Palembe village, renowned for producing some of the finest Sepik artwork. The afternoon brings further dances and a visit to another Spirit House at Kanganamun.

Accommodation: Sepik Guesthouse

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Transfer: Approximately 3 hours total by motorised canoe

 

Day 8: Chambri Lakes and Aibom Pottery Village

Leave the main river behind today and venture deep into the basin to reach the vast Chambri Lakes. At Kirimbit village, discover a Spirit House where local politics and customs have been debated for generations and where sacred art is still stored. Continue on by canoe to Aibom — the only village in the area where pottery is made, and the source of cooking pots and pans for all the surrounding Sepik communities.

Later, return to the immense Spirit House at Kanganamun to spend time with the men, who share their legends and stories — sometimes accompanied by the playing of a magic flute or special songs.

Accommodation: Sepik Guesthouse

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Transfer: Approximately 1 hour total by motorised canoe

 

Day 9: Middle Sepik to Wewak — Abelam Culture

A very early start by motorised canoe back to Pagwi, where your vehicle awaits. Take a detour to visit an Abelam Spirit House — the Abelam people live in the mountains and hills above the Sepik plain and are renowned yam cultivators, with impressive Spirit Houses and incredible masks. Enjoy a village visit and traditional dance, with lunch in the village, before returning to Wewak for a comfortable evening at the Boutique Hotel.

Accommodation: Boutique Hotel, Wewak

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer: To Pagwi: 2.5 hours by motorised canoe; to Wewak: 4.5 hours’ drive by private bus

 

Day 10: Wewak to Port Moresby

Morning flight back to Port Moresby and check in to the Airways Hotel, the city’s finest property, where you can rest and enjoy the comfort. In the afternoon you’re taken on a city tour including the Nature Park and the National Museum.

Accommodation: Airways Hotel — Fountain Room

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

 

Day 11: International Flight

After breakfast, transfer to Jacksons International Airport for your onward flight home.

 

Tour Price

• Price mentioned is for one person in Twin share accommodation. We will provide a final price tailored to your group size, room configuration and travel dates.
• All prices are subject to availability and can be withdrawn or varied without notice.
• Prices are guaranteed once your booking is confirmed by us and paid in full by the due date.
• Itineraries are subject to change without prior notice due to weather, operational requirements or any unforeseen situation. The exact order of day tours is subject to change.
• Not valid during the Goroka or Mt Hagen Show.

Inclusions

• 10 nights’ accommodation on a twin-share basis at Pacific Garden Hotel (Goroka), Kagai Guesthouse (Simbu), McRoyal Hotel (Mt Hagen), Kumul Lodge, Boutique Hotel (Wewak), Sepik Guesthouse and Airways Hotel (Port Moresby) — or similar
• 10 breakfasts, 9 lunches and 7 dinners as outlined in the itinerary
• Dedicated specialist English-speaking tour guide throughout
• All ground transport in private vehicles and all river transport in a motorised traditional dugout canoe (with cane chairs and pillows)
• All airport transfers (private vehicles, with some transfers by hotel shuttle as outlined)
• Meet & greet on arrival; airport drop-off and check-in support on departure
• All sing sings, cultural performances and activities described in the itinerary
• Day 1: Goroka Museum, coffee factory and fruit & vegetable market visit
• Day 2: Asaro Mudmen performance and Moko Moko dance; Daulo Pass; Kagai village tour and courtship ceremony
• Day 3: Kagai women’s sing sing; Mindima “skeleton” theatre play
• Day 4: Melpa village sing sing in Nebilyer Valley; Kumul Lodge Bird of Paradise viewing; orchid garden walk
• Day 5: Huli Wigmen village visit near Mt Hagen
• Days 6–8: Middle Sepik exploration — Kanganamun Spirit House and masked dances, Palembe art village, Chambri Lakes (Kirimbit Spirit House) and Aibom pottery village
• Day 9: Abelam Spirit House visit and traditional dance
• Day 10: Port Moresby city tour including the Nature Park and the National Museum

Exclusions

• International flights to and from Port Moresby
• Air Niugini domestic flights (Port Moresby–Goroka, Mt Hagen–Wewak and Wewak–Port Moresby)
• Papua New Guinea visa fee
• Travel and medical insurance
• Tips and gratuities
• Meals not specified
• Items of a personal nature
• Items not disclosed under inclusions

Please refer to our Standard Booking Conditions for booking terms and conditions.