Best Day Trips from Papua New Guinea 2026

Varirata National Park

Varirata sits on the edge of the Sogeri Plateau escarpment, the closest patch of protected rainforest and savanna to Port Moresby, and it is the standard day out for anyone wanting to see PNG birdlife without a multi-day trek. The park mixes monsoon forest, grassland and cliff-edge lookout points, and it is run as a managed reserve with marked walking trails rather than open bush. Most of a visit is spent walking the trail network slowly and quietly, since the appeal is what you see and hear rather than any built attraction.

Highlights: PNG first national park with highland rainforest, birds of paradise sightings, walking trails, panoramic views over Port Moresby, wildlife including tree kangaroos

Bomana War Cemetery

Bomana is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in the Pacific, holding the graves of over 3,000 Australian and Allied servicemen who died in the New Guinea campaign, including many killed along the Kokoda Track. It is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to the same standard as its European cemeteries, with rows of white headstones set on manicured lawns. It is a quiet, contemplative site rather than a sightseeing stop, and for Australians in particular it carries real weight given how many Kokoda casualties are buried here.

Highlights: WWII Australian and PNG war graves in a beautifully maintained setting, Kokoda Track historical context, over 3800 graves including soldiers who died on the Track

Loloata Island Marine Reserve

Loloata is a small island in Bootless Bay reached by a short boat crossing, built around a dive and snorkel resort with a fringing reef just offshore. The appeal is straightforward reef and wreck diving close to Port Moresby without a long boat run, plus a stretch of protected water calm enough for snorkelling straight off the island. It works well as a day trip because the whole experience - boat out, time on and in the water, boat back - fits comfortably into a few hours.

Highlights: World-class snorkeling and diving on healthy coral reefs, white sand beaches, resident sea turtles, relaxed island atmosphere away from the city

Sogeri Plateau and Rouna Falls

The Sogeri Plateau is the cooler, higher country behind Port Moresby reached via the Sogeri Road, historically planted with rubber and coffee and now the gateway to the start of the Kokoda Track. Rouna Falls, on the Laloki River as it drops off the plateau, is the most-visited single feature along the way, a series of cascades near the old hydroelectric station. The drive itself, climbing out of the dry coastal plain into greener, wetter plateau country, is as much a part of the day as the falls.

Highlights: Rouna Falls hydroelectric waterfalls, coffee plantation visits, start of the Kokoda Track at Owers Corner, cooler highland air and scenic Laloki River valley

Laloki River Gorge

Highlights: Natural freshwater swimming holes in tropical rainforest, dramatic gorge scenery, local picnic spots popular with Port Moresby residents, birdlife