Things to do in Goroka
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Goroka
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
The drier window, with the firmest trails and roads, coffee harvest activity and the best Wilhelm climbing months.
Goroka Show month, with Independence Day on 16 September and the town, flights and hotels at their fullest.
Coffee harvest and processing season, when a farm visit shows picking and washing rather than a description.
Wet season, heaviest from December to March, with landslides, flight disruption and dangerous Wilhelm conditions.
What's on
- Goroka Show Mid September, around Independence Day (16 September)
The 70th edition at the National Sports Institute grounds, over 100 cultural groups in a three day sing-sing.
- Papua New Guinea Independence Day 16 September
National day celebrations in Goroka in the same week as the Show, with parades and local events in town.
Best things to do in Goroka
Goroka Show
More than 100 cultural groups in one sing-sing by Independence Day, the greatest tribal gathering in the South Pacific.
J.K. McCarthy Museum
A small museum of Highlands artefacts and wartime material that gives the Show and village visits their context.
Asaro Mudmen
Clay masked mudmen, the Mokomoko dance and a mumu meal on a guided village visit about 30 minutes from Goroka.
Raun Raun Theatre
Home of a national theatre company performing Papua New Guinean stories, and the best evening culture in Goroka.
Goroka Bilum Market
Hand looped bilum bags and Highlands crafts beside the main hotel, the best souvenir shopping in the Eastern Highlands.
Where to stay in Goroka
Goroka centre
the Show, groups and a first visit
The Bird of Paradise compound, shuttle and bistro remove the most decisions in the middle of town.
North Goroka
families and quieter group stays
Gardens, a pool and a dining room in one compound, with a vehicle ride needed for everything in town.
Asaro Valley
a village night inside a guided programme
Sleep where the mudmen perform, with village facilities, arranged daylight transfers and no hotel security.
Think twice about
- Goroka streets on foot after dark
Do not walk at night, use a hotel or reputable vehicle, and stay inside the compound.
- Highlands Highway outside Goroka
Carjacking risk, roadblocks and landslides, and higher risk outside Goroka town. Daylight, guided, or not at all.
- Private rentals outside town
No verifiable staff, compound or vehicle, in countryside where the risks are at their highest.
Best restaurants in Goroka
Deck Bistro
The most reliable dinner in Goroka, a hotel bistro of pizzas and grills inside the Bird of Paradise compound.
Goroka Steak House
The standalone restaurant of Goroka at Hotel Phoenix, best for grilled chicken, lamb and curries in a group room.
Pacific Gardens Hotel Restaurant
The dining room of Pacific Gardens, serving international and Asian dishes inside its own guarded compound.
Goroka Main Market
Highlands produce and market lunches for a few kina, the cheapest and most honest food shopping in Goroka.
Outdoor things to do in Goroka
Mount Gahavisuka Provincial Park
Cloud forest trails, orchids and birds of paradise in a quiet provincial park about 11 km above Goroka.
Daulo Pass
The high highway pass west of Goroka, with roadside passionfruit stalls and a vast view back over the valley.
Mt Kis Lookout
The town viewpoint over Goroka and its valley, best in early morning light as a short stop with your driver.
Coffee farms of the Eastern Highlands
Smallholder arabica gardens walked cherry to cup on a guided day, in the coffee capital of Papua New Guinea.
Mount Wilhelm
The highest peak in Papua New Guinea at 4,509 m, a guided multi day climb from Keglsugl, never a Goroka day trip.
Best hotels in Goroka
Bird of Paradise Hotel
The best and largest hotel in Goroka, with a pool, a guarded compound and an airport shuttle in the centre of town.
Pacific Gardens Hotel
A garden hotel with a pool and dining room in North Goroka, the quieter full service base for families and groups.
Hotel Phoenix
A smaller central hotel by the airport road, home to the Goroka Steak House and priced below the two larger hotels.
Bendam Lodge
The traveller lodge of Goroka, simple rooms and an owner whose local guides and contacts are the real value.
Asaro Mudmen Tribal Eco Lodge
A simple village lodge where the mudmen live, for a mumu meal and a valley morning inside a guided programme.
Is Goroka expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | PGK 250 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | PGK 650 a person |
| Splurge | PGK 1,200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Goroka Show: months ahead
- Asaro Mudmen: a few days ahead
- Mount Gahavisuka Provincial Park: a few days ahead
- Coffee farms of the Eastern Highlands: a few days ahead
- Mount Wilhelm: months ahead
- Bird of Paradise Hotel: months ahead
- Pacific Gardens Hotel: months ahead
- Hotel Phoenix: weeks ahead
- Book Show week rooms, domestic flights and a reputable guide months ahead, close to a year for the best rooms.
- Book Asaro and coffee days through your hotel or operator days ahead, and Wilhelm weeks to months ahead.
- Reconfirm every domestic flight the day before, and keep a flexible day for weather and fuel disruptions.
Is Goroka safe?
- Stay inside Goroka town or a guarded compound, and travel to the Highlands countryside only guided, in daylight, with conditions checked that morning.
- Tribal fighting can erupt without warning across the Highlands, and roads can close the same day.
- Check conditions with your hotel every morning, avoid demonstrations and election crowds, and carry medical evacuation insurance.
- Take malaria advice before travel, keep cash in kina from Port Moresby, and know your hotel and insurer numbers.
Goroka travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Any offer of Mount Wilhelm as a day trip from Goroka, from any operator, in any form.
- Outside middleman village quotes many times the village fee, and museum hours trusted without a local check.
- A Show trip booked in August for September, when the rooms and flights it needs no longer exist.
Getting around Goroka: public transport and more
- Fly from Port Moresby to Goroka in about 50 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes, and use the hotel shuttle from the airport.
- Use only your hotel vehicle, your tour vehicle or a reputable hired car with a local driver.
- Do not use PMVs or local taxis, do not self drive the Highlands Highway, and travel outside town in daylight only.
Who Goroka suits
| Solo travellers | Not ideal |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | OK |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Goroka your trip
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