10-Nights Papua New Guinea: Wild Rivers & Highland Warriors - Active & Adventure, Arts & Culture from $9,444

Goway Travel

OFFER ID 1723012

Epic Scenery, Off the Beaten Path, Unique Accommodation, Wildlife Encounters Venture into the heart of Papua New Guinea, where ancient traditions blend with pristine nature. Cross the Central Ranges and engage with cultures on this wild expedition.

Trip Overview:

Venture into the heart of Papua New Guinea, where ancient traditions blend with pristine nature. Cross the Central Ranges and engage with cultures on this wild expedition.



Highlights:
  • Begin in Mount Hagen, surrounded by the misty Wahgi Valley, birthplace of ancient agriculture in Papua New Guinea.
  • Discover the Melpa tribe’s fascinating traditions, where wealth, ceremony, and community define Highland life.
  • Cruise deep into the Sepik region aboard the MV Sepik Spirit, gliding past jungle-fringed riverbanks and hidden villages.
  • Encounter sacred spirit houses in the Chambri Lakes and witness the artistry of local carvers and storytellers.
  • Explore the Tari Valley, meeting the Huli wigmen and walking rainforest trails alive with waterfalls and birdsong.


Included Services:
  • Airport transfers/tours on scheduled basis
  • 3 nights accommodations in Port Moresby
  • 4 nights accommodations on the MV Sepik Spirit
  • 3 nights accommodations in Tari
  • Chartered Flights: Mount Hagen to Karawari, Karawari to Tari and Tari to Mount Hagen
  • Local guides
  • Breakfast daily (except Day 1), 9 lunches, 9 dinners  

Excluded Services:
  • Travel insurance
  • International, *domestic airfare & airfare taxes
  • Meals and beverages not explicitly listed as included
  • Gratuities
  • Optional excursions
  • Items of a personal nature
  • Passport & Visa fees, if applicable

*Note that the following flights need to be booked but are not included:  Port Moresby to Mount Hagen and Mount Hagen to Port Moresby - your Goway Destination Specialist can assit!

10 nights from $9,444 per person

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Port Moresby

Upon your arrival in Port Moresby, you will be met by Trans Niugini Tours staff and transferred to your flight to Mount Hagen. Mount Hagen Town is in the upper Wahgi Valley - a valley with some of the oldest evidence of agriculture in the world. Perched high on Mount Kuta is Rondon Ridge, with unbelievable views of the valley and city below.


Hotel: Rondon Ridge Lodge (3 Star Rating)

Rondon Ridge is a 40-minute drive from the town of Mount Hagen and just under an hour from the airport. There are several daily flights between Mount Hagen and the capital, Port Moresby.

Rondon Ridge is a perfect hub for access to Ambua Lodge, Karawari Lodge, MV Sepik Spirit and Bensbach Wildlife Lodge.


Meal(s): Dinner



Day 2: Mount Hagen

Embark on a full day of touring featuring the unique culture and tradition of the Melpa tribe. First contact with this tribe was made in the mid-1930's. The Melpa are said, by anthropologists, to be "predisposed to capitalism" because of their complex traditional society in which "big men" earn status by accruing wealth and then giving it all away in ceremonial exchanges.


Hotel: Rondon Ridge Lodge (3 Star Rating)

Rondon Ridge is a 40-minute drive from the town of Mount Hagen and just under an hour from the airport. There are several daily flights between Mount Hagen and the capital, Port Moresby.

Rondon Ridge is a perfect hub for access to Ambua Lodge, Karawari Lodge, MV Sepik Spirit and Bensbach Wildlife Lodge.


Meal(s): Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch



Day 3: Mount Hagen to the Karawari River

This morning fly by charter flight into the deep heart of the jungle where your wondrous journey continues on the Sepik Spirit River boat. The design of this unique vessel was inspired by the local architecture of the "Haus Tambaran" or Spirit House. Your adventure begins with a tour to a local village and cruising down the jungle clad banks of the Karawari River.


Hotel: MV Sepik Spirit (3 Star Rating)

The Sepik Spirit is a deluxe "floating Lodge". Originally commissioned as a vessel for cruising the Sepik and Karawari Rivers, the Sepik Spirit is now permanently moored at a strategic site on the Sepik River. The Sepik Spirit's nine spacious rooms accommodate a maximum of just eighteen guests. Each has an en-suite bathroom, large windows and personally controlled air-conditioning.


Meal(s): Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch



Day 4: Cruising the Karawari River

Travel on the MV Sepik Spirit offers a unique and diverse experience of the remote Sepik region. The journey begins on the Karawari River, a tributary of the "Mighty Sepik River", and transverses along the remote river waterways to the middle Sepik River. You will pass jungle covered banks dotted with traditional fishing villages as you journey down the winding river for over 80 km to reach the Sepik River. As you meander along the Karawari River and Black water lakes you will experience remote villages, learn their customs and experience their day to day lives in modern times; which still closely reflect their traditional tribal lifestyle.

Once you reach the Sepik River travel into the remote Chambri Lakes, where you will visit the original traditional spirit houses of Kanganamin and Palambei; some of the most remarkable spirit houses still in existence. We pay respect to the sacred Haus Tambaran where generations of secret tales are told and dances to the drums and the rituals and stories are passed on to the next generation. The middle Sepik is the place where carvers and artists create the unique artifacts that are so essential to the spiritual life of the people.


Hotel: MV Sepik Spirit (3 Star Rating)

The Sepik Spirit is a deluxe "floating Lodge". Originally commissioned as a vessel for cruising the Sepik and Karawari Rivers, the Sepik Spirit is now permanently moored at a strategic site on the Sepik River. The Sepik Spirit's nine spacious rooms accommodate a maximum of just eighteen guests. Each has an en-suite bathroom, large windows and personally controlled air-conditioning.


Meal(s): Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch



Day 5: Cruising the Karawari River

Travel on the MV Sepik Spirit offers a unique and diverse experience of the remote Sepik region. The journey begins on the Karawari River, a tributary of the "Mighty Sepik River", and transverses along the remote river waterways to the middle Sepik River. You will pass jungle covered banks dotted with traditional fishing villages as you journey down the winding river for over 80 km to reach the Sepik River. As you meander along the Karawari River and Black water lakes you will experience remote villages, learn their customs and experience their day to day lives in modern times; which still closely reflect their traditional tribal lifestyle.

Once you reach the Sepik River travel into the remote Chambri Lakes, where you will visit the original traditional spirit houses of Kanganamin and Palambei; some of the most remarkable spirit houses still in existence. We pay respect to the sacred Haus Tambaran where generations of secret tales are told and dances to the drums and the rituals and stories are passed on to the next generation. The middle Sepik is the place where carvers and artists create the unique artifacts that are so essential to the spiritual life of the people.


Hotel: MV Sepik Spirit (3 Star Rating)

The Sepik Spirit is a deluxe "floating Lodge". Originally commissioned as a vessel for cruising the Sepik and Karawari Rivers, the Sepik Spirit is now permanently moored at a strategic site on the Sepik River. The Sepik Spirit's nine spacious rooms accommodate a maximum of just eighteen guests. Each has an en-suite bathroom, large windows and personally controlled air-conditioning.


Meal(s): Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch



Day 6: Cruising the Sepik River

Travel on the MV Sepik Spirit offers a unique and diverse experience of the remote Sepik region. The journey begins on the Karawari River, a tributary of the "Mighty Sepik River", and transverses along the remote river waterways to the middle Sepik River. You will pass jungle covered banks dotted with traditional fishing villages as you journey down the winding river for over 80 km to reach the Sepik River. As you meander along the Karawari River and Black water lakes you will experience remote villages, learn their customs and experience their day to day lives in modern times; which still closely reflect their traditional tribal lifestyle.

Once you reach the Sepik River travel into the remote Chambri Lakes, where you will visit the original traditional spirit houses of Kanganamin and Palambei; some of the most remarkable spirit houses still in existence. We pay respect to the sacred Haus Tambaran where generations of secret tales are told and dances to the drums and the rituals and stories are passed on to the next generation. The middle Sepik is the place where carvers and artists create the unique artifacts that are so essential to the spiritual life of the people.


Hotel: MV Sepik Spirit (3 Star Rating)

The Sepik Spirit is a deluxe "floating Lodge". Originally commissioned as a vessel for cruising the Sepik and Karawari Rivers, the Sepik Spirit is now permanently moored at a strategic site on the Sepik River. The Sepik Spirit's nine spacious rooms accommodate a maximum of just eighteen guests. Each has an en-suite bathroom, large windows and personally controlled air-conditioning.


Meal(s): Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch



Day 7: Sepik River to the Tari Valley

Today we make our way back up the Karawari River and prepare to leave the Sepik Spirit for our journey to the next destination. Take a short flight from Karawari across untouched rainforest and mountains to the Tari Valley. Once you arrive you will be transferred to Ambua Lodge; located at 7000 feet in the Hela province. This area is the homeland of the Huli clan, famed for their colorfully adorned human hair wigs and ancient warrior culture. Spend the afternoon enjoying Ambua's winding forest trails that take you through lush rainforest, past gushing waterfalls and over traditional vine bridges.


Hotel: Ambua Lodge (3 Star Rating)

Nestled amongst the Doma Peaks near Tari, almost 7000 feet above sea level, is Ambua Lodge. An award-winning, eco-friendly lodge boasting magnificent views of the Tari Valley below. Guests are accommodated in forty round houses, set amongst landscaped gardens and built almost exclusively from natural materials.


Meal(s): Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch



Day 8: Exploring the Tari Valley

Spend 2 days touring the villages and countryside of the iconic Huli tribe. In contrast to the Sepik people, whose art is manifested in ceremonial and decorative carvings, these Highland people employ body decoration, face painting and human hair wigs decorated with feathers, flowers and moss, as their expression of art. Visit the men's hair wig school and tour the local villages to experience how this proud mountain tribe has evolved in the modern age, while still maintaining the stories, beliefs and traditions of their ancestors.


Hotel: Ambua Lodge (3 Star Rating)

Nestled amongst the Doma Peaks near Tari, almost 7000 feet above sea level, is Ambua Lodge. An award-winning, eco-friendly lodge boasting magnificent views of the Tari Valley below. Guests are accommodated in forty round houses, set amongst landscaped gardens and built almost exclusively from natural materials.


Meal(s): Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch



Day 9: Exploring the Tari Valley

Spend 2 days touring the villages and countryside of the iconic Huli tribe. In contrast to the Sepik people, whose art is manifested in ceremonial and decorative carvings, these Highland people employ body decoration, face painting and human hair wigs decorated with feathers, flowers and moss, as their expression of art. Visit the men's hair wig school and tour the local villages to experience how this proud mountain tribe has evolved in the modern age, while still maintaining the stories, beliefs and traditions of their ancestors.


Hotel: Ambua Lodge (3 Star Rating)

Nestled amongst the Doma Peaks near Tari, almost 7000 feet above sea level, is Ambua Lodge. An award-winning, eco-friendly lodge boasting magnificent views of the Tari Valley below. Guests are accommodated in forty round houses, set amongst landscaped gardens and built almost exclusively from natural materials.


Meal(s): Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch



Day 10: Tari Valley to Port Moresby

This morning you will be transferred to Tari Airport for your domestic PX Flight depart for Port Moresby on Air Niugini. Upon arrival in Port Moresby, you will be met by Trans Niugini Tours staff and transferred to the Airways Hotel. The afternoon is spent exploring the Nature Park and other interesting land marks.


Hotel: Airways Hotel (4 Star Rating)

Airways Hotel is Papua New Guinea's leading hotel, Australasia's leading airport hotel and one of the most unique airport hotels in the world. Nestled into the mountainside in its own botanical gardens, with stunning views from crystal clear waters of Bootless Bay to the majestic mountains of the Owen Stanley Ranges, the hotel it is located just 2 minutes from Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby.


Meal(s): Breakfast, Lunch



Day 11: Depart from Port Moresby

This morning you will be transferred to the airport to meet you outgoing international flight


Meal(s): Breakfast



Featured Destinations
River Cruising
Karawari
Tari Valley
Sepik River
Mt. Hagen
Port Moresby

Vacation Details

Valid Date Ranges
11/16/2026 - 12/31/2028
from $9,444 per person


* This departure has been designated a guaranteed departure by the operator, meaning that the minimum number of guests has been met, although still subject to weather and other conditions.
Prices Start At
from $9,444 per person
Length
10 Nights
Air City
Call for airfares from your city.
Vacation Rating
Deluxe
Fine dining, on-site bars or lounges and room service with extended hours are characteristic of deluxe establishments. Guest services usually include valet parking, concierge services, baggage assistance and laundry services. Other on-site facilities often include shops and boutiques, full service spas, full fitness facilities with pools and tennis courts. Business amenities may include available up-to-date technology and support staffs available for services. Attention to detail is apparent in the guestrooms which typically have stylish furnishings, quality bedding and bath products and often provide an evening turn down service.
Remarks
Pricing is dynamic and subject to change based on specific travel dates, room categories and availability. Prices are "from" per person based on twin/double share accommodation and for travel in low season. Seasonal surcharges and blackout dates may apply. Limited seat/spaces and all pricing is subject to change and availability. Rates for single or triple travelers are available on request - please inquire with your Travel Advisor.

All fares are quoted in US Dollars.

OFFER ID
1723012

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Skedaddle Travel

628 Hill Street
Rochester, MI 48307
USA

(248) 765-6777