New Guinea

New Guinea is the world’s second-largest island, lying north of Australia and divided politically between the independent state of Papua New Guinea in the east and Indonesian provinces in the west. It is noted for exceptionally high biodiversity and cultural-linguistic diversity.

Key visitor attractions are tropical rainforests, highland valleys with distinct cultures and traditional agriculture, river systems used for transport, and mountain landscapes that support specialized ecosystems. Rivers, wetlands and coral reefs are also important natural features widely used by local communities.

Human occupation dates back tens of thousands of years with long-developed local societies and languages; European contact began in the 16th century and in modern times the island was divided between colonial administrations before becoming two different political entities in the 20th century.

Geographically it sits just north of Australia, stretching roughly 2,000 km east-west at its widest extents and featuring a central mountain chain that dominates the island’s interior.

• Size and diversity: The island is the world’s second-largest after Greenland and contains extraordinarily high biological and linguistic diversity, with over 1,000 indigenous languages recorded across the island.
• Highest peak: Its highest summit reaches 4,884 m, making it one of the highest tropical mountains globally and an important location for alpine biodiversity.

What to See#

• Central Range (Highlands): A longitudinal mountain spine running east-west across the island with high plateaus and valleys that host agricultural highland communities.
• Sepik and lowlands: Lowland river systems and floodplains, including one of the largest free-flowing river basins in the region known for fishing and floodplain settlements.
• Vogelkop (Bird’s Head) Peninsula: Large western peninsula noted for its distinctive flora and endemism and for isolating a separate marine and terrestrial fauna.