Sing-Sings, Festivals, and Cultural Shows in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea has half a dozen cultural festivals duirng the year, the biggest and best being the 60-year-old event at Goroka in the Eastern Highlands, the most well-known is at Mt Hagen in the Western Highlands, the National Mask Festival in Kokopo is modestly priced, and the small Ambunti Crocodile Festival in the Sepik is the the most remote.
Goroka Festival
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Goroka Highlands Festival
18 - 22 September 2025 Over the three-day weekend closest to the September 16th Independence Day, over 100 tribes gather at Goroka in the Eastern Highlands for a celebration of their cultural diversity. Only a couple of hundred foreigners attended this spectacular and unique event. In 2010, I was one of them for the first time. Amidst a riot of colour, singing, dancing, and feathers I wandered through the field of performers, taking pictures and trying to chat with the different tribes. See a video here, or scroll to the bottom of the page. In 2023 400 VIP passes were sold (to foreign visitors and PNG dignitaries), 150 tribal groups were present, and attendance over the weekend was between 40,000 and 50,000. Although the dancers are keen to pose for the camera and readily struck a pose, it is far from a show designed for tourists. Quite the opposite in fact. The first “Goroka Show” was held in 1957, the brain-child of administrators and missionaries trying stop virulent inter-tribal conflicts and implemented by Australian Patrol Officers (PNG was under Australian administration until peaceful independence was arranged in 1975). Instead of fighting over ancient feds and cultural differences, the idea was to get together and celebrate diversity, take part in competitions, and intermix peacefully. |
As unlikely as it sounds, the idea worked, and fifty plus years on is still going strong. There are no longer any competitions (I can imagine the archery and spear throwing competitions were hotly contested and probably not the best way to promote peace), not even for dancing or singing. Quite rightly, the organisers feel that one cannot say that one cultural dance is better than another without giving the feeling that the culture itself is being judged. Nowadays each group has a section of the showgrounds and dances and sings there from 9 am to 4 pm each day.
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There are a considerable number of women’s groups, wearing more birds in their headdresses than you’d find in a Philipino smuggler’s suitcase, their glimmering breasts sporting as many kina shells as they possess in order to display their wealth. Fierce-looking Silimbuli warriors with blackened faces in huge hair-woven berets jump up and down in unison to the rhythm of their kundu drums, dissuading any challenge. Brightly-coloured Mount Hagen warriors form a formidable spear line, but chant and whistle cheerily whilst grass-skirted Engan ladies dance and sing as their men beat out a tune on bamboo (and hardware store PVC) pipes with flip-flops. One tribe has giant bird and butterfly frameworks on their backs in a sort of Rio Carnival style, others act out stories about spirits and ancestors in song, shaven headed children with their hair made into beards playing the roles of pygmy ghosts. Hornbill beaks and wild pig tusks are proudly worn, and feathers, grasses and leaves used as dress and decoration in a myriad of ways. Every tribe is stunning, headdresses are often an ornithologist's nightmare of feathers and often whole stuffed birds.
You can open a full screen gallery here or watch a collection of video clips here I go on a yearly basis, and for 2025 have put together an 8-night Highlands tribes trip with four nights at accommodation at Goroka, one night in a locally-run guesthouse in an Asaro Mudman village, and two nights in the Western Highlands for Birds of Paradise and Melpa culture.You can find the full details of the options here. |
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Shorter stays for three and four nights are also possible. See here.
You can stay in the quite expensive Bird of Paradise hotel in town, or use the basic but clean and safe accommodation right next to the showgrounds. Four-night packages with flights range from $1260 USD upwards depending on accommodation chosen, all including domestic flights, an Asaro Mudmen village visit and Sing-Sing with mumu lunch or hiking.
You can find the full details of the options here.
Other Goroka activities:
Goroka has coffee plantations, Asaro villages, half-day and full day walks and tours, as well as multi-day tours and treks.
We also work with an Asaro village that has a basic lodge for visitors and organise multi-day stays, Contact us to discuss your requirements. You can see more on the lodge at www.asaromudmen.com
You can stay in the quite expensive Bird of Paradise hotel in town, or use the basic but clean and safe accommodation right next to the showgrounds. Four-night packages with flights range from $1260 USD upwards depending on accommodation chosen, all including domestic flights, an Asaro Mudmen village visit and Sing-Sing with mumu lunch or hiking.
You can find the full details of the options here.
Other Goroka activities:
Goroka has coffee plantations, Asaro villages, half-day and full day walks and tours, as well as multi-day tours and treks.
We also work with an Asaro village that has a basic lodge for visitors and organise multi-day stays, Contact us to discuss your requirements. You can see more on the lodge at www.asaromudmen.com
Mount Hagen Festival
Mount Hagen: 14-18 August 2025
Mount Hagen also hosts a Sing-Sing over a weekend in August. It has slightly more tourist vistors and less tribes than Goroka, but still pulls together and impressive 90 to 100 tribal groups. It can be combined with bird watching, visiting a Melpa village, a Huli Wigman village, going to other birding or cultural activities in the Asaro valley, home to the Mudmen, or a visit to any of the dive resorts. The best short option is a four-night stay arriving on the Thursday and going to a private mini Sing-Sing on the Friday in Paiya. We include it in our four-night packages. Our packages have three different accommodation options.
You can find our 2025 Hagen Festival packages here
Mount Hagen also hosts a Sing-Sing over a weekend in August. It has slightly more tourist vistors and less tribes than Goroka, but still pulls together and impressive 90 to 100 tribal groups. It can be combined with bird watching, visiting a Melpa village, a Huli Wigman village, going to other birding or cultural activities in the Asaro valley, home to the Mudmen, or a visit to any of the dive resorts. The best short option is a four-night stay arriving on the Thursday and going to a private mini Sing-Sing on the Friday in Paiya. We include it in our four-night packages. Our packages have three different accommodation options.
You can find our 2025 Hagen Festival packages here
Sepik Crocodile Festival
Sepik Crocodile Festival 3 to 9 August, 2025 $2490 USD including return domestic flights
Start with a flight from Port Moresby to the Sepik and a night in Wewak at the very comfortable In Wewak Boutique Hotel. The next day, with your local guide, you will be driven across the Hunstein range to the mighty Sepik to board your motorised dugout canoe at Pagwi and cruise upstream to Wagu Lagoon, passing villages along the way. Your accommodation for three nights is in Wagu guesthouse, in the Upper Sepik, on foam mattresses with clean linen and mosquito nets. The guesthouse has a generator for battery charging and light at night. On the 5th and 6th, you will attend the Sepik Crocodile Festival, and photograph the varied and fascinating tribal groups from the region. You will also go and look for the Lesser Bird of Paradise on a dawn trip, and visit the villages of Meno and Tongijamb. Wagu Lagoon is an excellent place for bird photography too. On the 7th, you will go into to the Middle Sepik to visit the villages of Palimbei and Kanganamun, the most well-known of the Iatmul language group tribes, who practice the art of extreme scarification, known as the Crocodilemen, where you will spend the night. You will return to Pagwi around lunchtime on the 8th, and then return to Wewak to overnight at In Wewak Boutique Hotel.
There is a single room supplement for the two nights in Wewak of $170
More Sepik River information here
Email us for more information.
Start with a flight from Port Moresby to the Sepik and a night in Wewak at the very comfortable In Wewak Boutique Hotel. The next day, with your local guide, you will be driven across the Hunstein range to the mighty Sepik to board your motorised dugout canoe at Pagwi and cruise upstream to Wagu Lagoon, passing villages along the way. Your accommodation for three nights is in Wagu guesthouse, in the Upper Sepik, on foam mattresses with clean linen and mosquito nets. The guesthouse has a generator for battery charging and light at night. On the 5th and 6th, you will attend the Sepik Crocodile Festival, and photograph the varied and fascinating tribal groups from the region. You will also go and look for the Lesser Bird of Paradise on a dawn trip, and visit the villages of Meno and Tongijamb. Wagu Lagoon is an excellent place for bird photography too. On the 7th, you will go into to the Middle Sepik to visit the villages of Palimbei and Kanganamun, the most well-known of the Iatmul language group tribes, who practice the art of extreme scarification, known as the Crocodilemen, where you will spend the night. You will return to Pagwi around lunchtime on the 8th, and then return to Wewak to overnight at In Wewak Boutique Hotel.
There is a single room supplement for the two nights in Wewak of $170
More Sepik River information here
Email us for more information.
Rabual Mask Festival
KOKOPO NATIONAL MASK FESTIVAL from $740 8 -13 July 2025
FFive nights’ bed and breakfast accommodation at the Rapopo Plantation Resort, Kinavai Ceremony, Bainings Fire Dance, full day Rabaul WW2 Tour, Kokopo agriculture and food tour or Mt Tarvurvur volcano hike, Duke of York Islands tour, Dolphin swim, airport transfers.
Double occupancy rates: Bayside Garden room $745 per person sharing. Poolside Premier room $880.
Twin occupancy rates: Bayside Garden room $815 per person sharing. Poolside Premier room $950.
Single occupancy rates: Bayside Garden room $1195 per person sharing. Poolside Premier room $1345.
Extensions for the end of the Warwagira music festival are possible. Rates in USD. Return Port Moresby flights between $390 and $460. More information on the Kokopo National Mask Festival here.
The National Mask Festival takes place every year in Rabaul and is run by the PNG National Cultural Commission. Highlighting Papua New Guinea’s mask culture, it attracts artists and performers nationwide. Many types of ancestor, spirit and tumbuan masks are visible, both old and recent.
Ancestor masks represent humans, often with holes in the eyes being a key feature. Smaller masks are used as headgear during dances and ceremonies or to depict ancestors in people's homes. Spirit masks are also mounted on walls or gables to provide protection through the representation of non-human forms. The Tumbuan is also the representation of a spirit, but larger so that they can be worn over the head and shoulders, or even the entire body during dances that tell stories about the afterlife.
This is without a doubt the largest and most wide-ranging collection of masks at a Sing-Sing, and overlaps with the Warwagira music festival. It's a great occasion to see and purchase local crafts and artefacts, and witness the Kinavai opening ceremony and visit the Baining's village for a captivating fire dance.
FFive nights’ bed and breakfast accommodation at the Rapopo Plantation Resort, Kinavai Ceremony, Bainings Fire Dance, full day Rabaul WW2 Tour, Kokopo agriculture and food tour or Mt Tarvurvur volcano hike, Duke of York Islands tour, Dolphin swim, airport transfers.
Double occupancy rates: Bayside Garden room $745 per person sharing. Poolside Premier room $880.
Twin occupancy rates: Bayside Garden room $815 per person sharing. Poolside Premier room $950.
Single occupancy rates: Bayside Garden room $1195 per person sharing. Poolside Premier room $1345.
Extensions for the end of the Warwagira music festival are possible. Rates in USD. Return Port Moresby flights between $390 and $460. More information on the Kokopo National Mask Festival here.
The National Mask Festival takes place every year in Rabaul and is run by the PNG National Cultural Commission. Highlighting Papua New Guinea’s mask culture, it attracts artists and performers nationwide. Many types of ancestor, spirit and tumbuan masks are visible, both old and recent.
Ancestor masks represent humans, often with holes in the eyes being a key feature. Smaller masks are used as headgear during dances and ceremonies or to depict ancestors in people's homes. Spirit masks are also mounted on walls or gables to provide protection through the representation of non-human forms. The Tumbuan is also the representation of a spirit, but larger so that they can be worn over the head and shoulders, or even the entire body during dances that tell stories about the afterlife.
This is without a doubt the largest and most wide-ranging collection of masks at a Sing-Sing, and overlaps with the Warwagira music festival. It's a great occasion to see and purchase local crafts and artefacts, and witness the Kinavai opening ceremony and visit the Baining's village for a captivating fire dance.
Other shows
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The Hiri Moale festival takes place in Port Moresby at the same time as the Goroka show and celebrates the sea and man's life on it. This colourful festival was originally designed to preserve the Hiri Trade expeditions between the Motu-Koitabu people and the Erema (Kerema) people on PNG's south-west coast. The Motu-Koitabu would undertake a three-month journey by Lagatoi (traditional canoe) to trade clay pots for sago and canoe logs from the Erema. Today, the festival features traditional dances, the Hiri Queen contest (a beauty pageant), the arrival of the Lagatoi (traditional canoes), canoe racing, musical presentations and an arts and crafts exhibition. The two main venues are at Sir Hubert Murray Stadium and Ela Beach.
The Malagan show and the Yamut Festival used to take place in Kavieng, New Ireland at the end of July and celebrates the New Ireland mask and craft making culture. However, the Malagan Show and the Yamut Festival have not taken place for a number of years due to a lack of funding and coherent organisation despite being talked about every year. In fact, there has been no decent Malagan Show since 1987. In the Trobriand Islands in the south, July is also the preferred month for a Yam Festival. However, it is really an event for locals and little advance notice is given of the actual date as the festival only occurs when the harvest is deemed successful. When the July harvest is considered too small, the festival has taken place in October or November. It’s best to consider being on the islands when the festival occurs as a lucky bonus rather than a key point of a trip. |
Alotau has a Kundo Canoe festival in late October or early November. Canoes and the Kundu drums are a significant aspect of the lives of the people of Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. Both the Canoe and the Kundu were widely used in olden times in ceremonies and rituals and were meticulously crafted from special woods under strict customs, to derive the best results and to appease the gods. The National Canoe and Kundu Festival were first held in Milne Bay in 2003. The canoes that are used in the festival are crafted in the same way that the canoes were crafted many years ago by the people’s ancestors. The colours and patterns reflect upon the tribe and the area the canoe comes from. The canoes and traditional dancing groups come from all over the Milne Bay province, including some parts of the Papuan Region.