• See the sights of Port Moresby, the capital, situated on the magnificent Fairfax Harbour. It's home to the National Parliament, the National Museum, the Botanical Gardens and the Catholic Cathedral, built in the haus tambaran (spirit house) style.

• Outside Port Moresby, visit the Kokoda Trail and Sogeri, which offers magnificent views and winds through rubber plantations; and Village Arts. Other nearby places of interest include the Wairiata National Park; Moitaka Crocodile Farm; Loloata Island and the Sea Park Oceanarium.

• Stroll the beautiful Botanical Gardens in Lae, capital of Morobe province. Mount Lunaman in the town centre was used by the Germans and Japanese as a WWII lookout because of its magnificent views over the Huon Gulf and the Markham Valley. 

• Go to Wau, near Lae, where the Wau Ecology Institute has a small museum and zoo. Visitors can see cassowaries, tree kangaroos, crocodiles, birds of paradise, native butterflies and rhododendrons.

• Take a tour round the islands and up the Sepik River from the capital of Madang Province, Madang. It has a variety of shops and markets, where storyboards depicting myths and legends can be bought. In nearby Bilbils and Yabobs, traditional pottery-making can be seen.

• Visit Kanganaman, where a haus tambaran (spirit house) of national cultural importance has been rebuilt, providing an excellent example of the carvings on the immense Haus Posts. Also see local clans' elaborately carved masks, insect totems, canoe prows and stepladders.

• Browse traditional crafts in the Eastern Highlands. Bena Bena Village, near Goroka, is the region's largest handweaving organisation. Also nearby is Asaro, where men coat themselves with mud to re-enact their historic revenge on a neighbouring village, whose inhabitants supposedly scarpered thinking the mud-caked locals ghosts.

• Witness the beauty of the famous birds of paradise at Baiyer River Wildlife Sanctuary, 55km (34 miles) north of Mount Hagen. Possums, tree kangaroos, parrots and cassowaries are also part of the natural habitat.

• Soak up some spectacular scenery views in the Mendi Valley of the Southern Highlands, also known for its limestone caves. It is home to the Huli Wigmen who wear red and yellow face-paint and elaborately decorated wigs made of human hair.

• Visit part of a 576km (360-mile) underground tunnel system left by the Japanese on the island of New Britain, which suffered extensive damage from volcanic activity in 1994.

• Enjoy the white sandy beaches of Milne Bay, the islands offshore from Bougainville. Swimming and snorkelling enthusiasts are well catered for here. The harvesting of yams from May to September is also accompanied by ritual and celebration.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.