from $8,250* per person	13 Days	February-November
Boutique accommodations		Exertion level: 4
Operator: Geographic Expeditions		18 people max

Crazy-lush, lush as a dream of green heaven, its air is filled with Picasso birds, and its jungles, mountains, and people are cheerful citizens of one of the last earthly places where nature is an unrivaled hegemon. Papua New Guinea is a spirit-lifting place, but—isn’t this so often the case?—its people are the sweet surprise.

We begin in Port Moresby and the world-class gardens and mountain views of the Airways Hotel. From here we fly inland to the Ambua Lodge, high on the slopes of the Tari Valley, home to the very traditional Huli people (we’ll intersperse our stay at the Ambua with a one-night homestay). The gorgeous Tari Valley is rich in orchids, waterfalls, and 13 species of those Picassoan birds of paradise that number among New Guinea’s many glories.

A charter flight takes us to the lowland rain forest of Karawari, where we’ll enjoy a fine series of forest walks and encounters with river dwellers. We next fly to Mount Hagen for an exploration of the island’s highland villages and their folks. We’ll spend a day getting a feel for the lives of the area’s Kusumb, Melpa, and Hagen people, based at the 7100-foot Rondon Ridge Lodge, perched on the slopes of Kum Mountain. (Mounts Hagen and Kum are part of New Guinea’s mountain spine, which dives into the Solomon Sea at the 51st meridian where it is patiently rising and will someday become the highest mountain range on earth.)

We end our trip with a couple of days in Tufi, a diving, snorkeling, beach-wandering, soul-soothing locale the Lonely Planet folks call “Papua New Guinea’s best-kept secret.” We fly back to Port Moresby before heading back home from an island where, J. P. McAuley wrote, “The earth dances, the mountains speak, and the doors of the spirit open.”