"Cannibals of Papua" Across New Guinea (Indonesia, trekking) 17 days/$6100

Day 3 March 13. Early in the morning we drive to the far north-western part of the Baliem Valley, to visit the Lani hill tribe. Equipped with tents, mats, sleeping bags and food for 2 days. It takes 6 km trekking to reach the caves close to the village (be careful not to walk here alone, unstable rocks). We journey along an underground river with lanterns, we see Papuans on the way catching river shrimp. Visitors can take an evening tour of the neighboring village with a guide.

Night in a ‘honai’ - traditional Papuan round house with a thatched roof, it’s very clean and comfortable. For those who prefer not to sleep in the house, you have the choice to stay in a tent. You will need a sweater at night, dinner will be around a campfire in the honai.

Day 4 March 14. Excursion to a mountain forest (with a maximum altitude of 2300 m.), studded with orchids, azaleas and predatory Nepenthes (as seen in the movie"Avatar"). Papuan children catch mice, small marsupials and spiders which all goes into the food (if you are offered this politely refuse, their generous nature means they often don’t have enough for themselves).

Unusual plants, unusual natural resources - and the continuing tale of the wondrous things that surround us. You will have the opportunity to purchase  interesting household items, jewelry and weapons as souvenirs (it’s recommended that you support the village hosting us with these purchases).

Return to Wamena, along the way you may see the river ammonites which prints from the  Paleogene marine mollusks. The tour ends with a night in a hotel.

Day 7 March 17. After about 3 hours on the boat we are met by our conductors, porters who carry the general cargo, please take a small backpack with any essential items, and  we go deep into the forest. Here you can witness various exotic plants - nepenthes (plant predators) Sterculia, Canarium, myrtles; as well as sets of mantises and Phylliidae. You may be lucky enough to see bird spiders. You will spot the traditional dwelling, the tree house "Qaim" and the small (female) house - "Kou" which is a typical construction of the Korowai tribe. Here the tour rests and tents are erected.  We make the first acquaintance with these jungle kids.

Day 8-9-10 March 18-19-20. The trekking tour continues with frequent swimming breaks to cool off.  We set up camp near the traditional “Qaims”.  In 2012 and the spring of 2013 we were the first white men to meet the local Papuans-Korowai, the inhabitants of these villages were still using only stone tools. However, already in the autumn of 2013 the first time we met other white tourists in one of that communities.  Hence now we go deeper to find even more remote communities. Starting from 2015 we aim to explore the remotest territory to search for and ascertain the size of the remaining  undiscovered civilization of the Korowai.

In the villages we can buy traditional items made by the korowai such as bows and arrows, daggers from thin cassowary bone, unimaginably decorated with the elytra of beetles, molluscs and various seeds.

One of the possible routes is through the encampment of a kapayak family from the hostile Korowai tribe, known to be unfriendly towards Korowai. It is only this family that have intermingled with a Korowai, this good relationship has made it possible for us to be interact with them.

Militant kapayaki build especially high Qaim (up to 45 m), and the notion of "woman" and "pig" is expressed as one word which signifies a military trophy. Another possibility is to stop in a village located near large expanses of sago palm, and here we may enjoy this venue, which is used for group gatherings to eat together, as well as negotiations between representatives from various clans. The sago palm is an essential resource for residents of the tropical swamps of New Guinea, and it’s related crafts - it is a perfect, unusual and very interesting object of observation for us. The same day we will spend time with the Papuans who prepare red pandanusovoe oil, collect weevil larvae living in the Sago palm, catch river fish, monitor lizards and various insects and other small creatures in the forest. Our catch will fill the special Sago bread, which is baked in banana leaves with pandanus oil.  Observe, and if permitted visit the high-Qaim Korowai houses, witnessing their traditional ways of catching fish in a tropical swamp.

Day 14 March 24. Transfer to the incredibly beautiful wild beach at the north end of New Guinea. In the forest near the sea there is a fresh water creek. You have the option to catch fish, swim (but stay within 5 m of the shore, due to beware a dangerous current), walk in the jungle which lines  the sea. Spend the night in a tent, have dinner around the campfire, cooking the fish ourselves.