What's it all about?
Come visit one of the world’s great civilisations as they celebrate the Mount Hagen Festival in style with this once-in-a-lifetime Papua New Guinea tour.
Every August, previously warring tribes come together in peace and friendship to show off their individuality. It’s a spectacle full of colour song and dance.
We’ll kick off the tour in Port Moresby – PNG’s seaside capital city before flying into Mount Hagan and the Central Highlands. Here we’ll visit local villages, mini-festivals and participate in a traditional pig mumu feast!
Then comes the trip highlight – 2 full days at the Mount Hagen festival. Plus we make sure to get there early for some behind the scenes access!
That’s not all! On these exclusive Mount Hagen Festival Tours we’ll also journey deeper into the highlands, visiting the town of Goroka before flying back to Port Moresby.
Take a look at the itinerary below. Spaces are extremely limited for tours to Papua New Guinea, so sign up today!
Port Moresby – Mount Hagen – Goroka – Port Moresby
August 13 – 20th, 2024
PNG has visa on arrival for most nationalities. If you’re not sure if you qualify just ask and we’ll let you know.
Port Moresby – Mount Hagen – Goroka – Port Moresby.
August 13th - Port Moresby
- Own arrival in the capital Port Morseby and transfer to the hotel.
- Port Moresby city tour including the Parliament House, National art gallery, museum, craft market and parks.
- Head out for a group dinner and some drinks at the yacht club. We will discuss the trip in more detail and it will also give you a chance to get to know your guide and fellow travellers.
- Overnight in Port Moresby.
August 14th - Mount Hagen
- Early morning ride to the airport to catch our flight to Mt. Hagen.
- Upon arrival, we will meet our local guides and transfer to the hotel/guesthouse.
- After check-in, we will check out Mt Hagen’s main market where you can see all kinds of tribal artefacts unique to the New Guinea highlands.
- Afterwards we head out into the surrounding mountains and we will see birds of paradise, highland echidnas and cassowaries if we’re lucky.
- Visit a local coffee plantation and factory. Mount Hagen is world renowned for the quality of the beans they produce.
- Head back to Mt Hagen for dinner and overnight.
August 15th - Mount Hagen
- We go deep into the highlands to a local village.
- The villagers will prepare a pig mumu lunch for us. This involves the slaughtering of a pig, which is then prepared and cooked in a hole under hot rocks. While we wait for it to cook, the villagers will introduce us to different customs and traditional skills such as fire making and archery.
- After a massive feast, we will explore the nearby villages some more.
- Head back to Mt. Hagen for dinner
- Overnight in Mt Hagen.
August 16th - Mount Hagen
- After breakfast we will drive out to Paiya to witness the festival. The Paiya mini-show is a private event with more than 10 tribal groups performing in a very close-knit rural area.
- Lunch on site.
- Drive back to Mt. Hagen in the evening.
- Dinner & Overnight.
August 17th - Mount Hagen
- Today is the big festival day! We head to the local festival ground which will host the Mount Hagen festival. We get there early enough to witness the participants preparing their costumes.
- We can partake in some traditional games and slap on some face paint (extra charge)
- After the show we will head back to the hotel for dinner.
- Overnight in Mt Hagen.
August 18th- Mount Hagen
- Another day at the show with more dancing, mingling and incredible photo opportunities.
- Head to the local bowling club to celebrate the end of the festival!
- Overnight in Mt Hagen.
August 19th - Goroka
- We leave Mount Hagen to see more of the highlands region.
- Lunch along the way at Mt Wilheam Hotel in Simbu Province.
- We’ll meet the Mindima Skeleton Tribes – Ancestors of this tribe were afraid of a monster in a cave, so to attack the monster they disguised themselves as skeletons which apparently worked!
- We stop by the J.K McCarthy Museum in the city which is made up of several rooms showcasing everything from WWII relics and traditional PNG objects.
- Overnight in Goroka.
August 20th - Port Moresby
- We take the early Air Niugini flight from Goroka to Port Moresby.
- End of tour.
**Due to limited domestic flight availability, especially in this period – Early booking is advised. If booking late then the tour cost is liable to increase in line with the flight prices. **
August 13 - 20th, 2024
Mount Hagen Festival Tour
Domestic flights included
Start / Finish in Port Moresby
Standard hotel
7 Nights
The price
$2,950 USD
