Western Highlands Accommodation and Travel Information
West of Simbu, the Western Highlands drop into the broad Wahgi Valley, the mist-shrouded peaks descending to lowland rainforest and alpine grasslands. The provincial capital, Mount Hagen, is a bustling commercial centre where wealth from coffee and tea plantations has brought rapid change to the traditional lifestyle. Set in the large Wahgi Valley, with its neat villages, gardens, coffee plantations and groves of casuarinas, this busy town has a wild-west feel about it. Mount Hagen hosts the annual Mount Hagen Show in August – one of the country’s most spectacular cultural displays of dancing and singing.
Attractions:
- Mount Hagen
All main banks and airlines have offices here. The market, located at the corner of Wahgi Parade and Kum Road, is the place to see colourfully attired locals, particularly on Saturdays, as well as fresh produce, pigs, feathers, and maybe cassowaries. The men traditionally grow a long beard and the women wear an array of brilliant scarves and carry brightly coloured string bags, or bilums. These are used to carry everything from babies to firewood.
- Mount Hagen Show
Held the third weekend in August, this amazing show is the place to see the fantastic traditional costumes and headdresses decorated with bird of paradise plumes and the cuscus fur that Wahgi people wear.
- Arts & Crafts
Traditional weapons, bilums and Highlands hats, decorated with cuscus fur, are available from the larger hotels and around the town. The Cultural Centre has a reconstructed village hut and a museum with artefacts.
- Archeological Sites
The Kuk Valley is a site where land was first cultivated for gardening. Check with the Cultural Centre or hotels for permission to visit.
- Walking/trekking
Walks of various lengths can be done from Haus Poroman Lodge, through forest or to villages and plantations. Longer and more strenuous hikes can be taken from the city to the towering peaks of Mount Hagen (3791m), Mount Ongo, Mount Kubor, Mount Kini Kaino Ku, and Mount Giluwe (4368m). Trans Niugini Tours, on Kongin Street behind the hospital, can also organise tours and treks, as well as Paradise Adventure Tours.
- Birdwatching
Baiyer River Wildlife Sanctuary north of Mount Hagen is one of the best places to see colourful birds of paradise.
For accommodation in the Western Highlands, just visit our Western Highlands accommodation page to search Western Highlands accommodation listings, and make enquiries or bookings online. Our listings include motels and motor lodges, hotels, bed and breakfasts, camping grounds and holiday parks, resorts and lodges, backpackers and hostel accommodation.
For things to see and do in the Western Highlands, just visit our things to see and do in the Western Highlands guide to search for Western Highlands listings, and make enquiries or bookings online. Our listings include tourist attractions, tours, and sightseeing in the area.