Tour packages
Culture tours in the Baliem Valley
- Bookable all year round with flexible duration
- Stay in our resort and discover the valley in private excursions
- From/to Wamena Airport, we take care of everything
- No hidden costs, no surprises
- You prefer other excursions? Find the full list below ⬇︎
Baliem Valley Culture Tour
4 days/3 nights
On this trip in Papua you go on a hike in the authentic south of the Baliem Valley. You also attend a traditional pig festival, which is by far the most amazing experience of a trip to New Guinea.
Baliem Valley Culture Tour
5 days/4 nights
Same program as for the 4 days/3 nights.
Additionally, visit Kotilola Cave, hike to the remote Meagaima mummy, and meet local coffee farmers.
Baliem Valley Culture Tour
6 days/5 nights
Same program as for the 5 days/4 nights.
Additionally, you explore Lake Habbema, surrounded by a fairytale-like alpine landscape at 3.200 metres.
Baliem Valley Culture Tour
7 days/6 nights
Same program as for the 6 days/5 nights.
Additionally, you visit an ancient salt spring and see the famous mummy of Jiwika.
List of excursions around the Resort
- Each tour with private vehicle, lunchbox, and personal local guide
- Free to combine - contact us for your individual program!
Tour 1: Traditional pig festival
Today is a very special day! After breakfast, we get ready to participate in a pig feast which takes place in a traditional Dani village. Many decorated people from the Dani tribe take part in the festival. Such pig feasts with hot stones and earth pits are probably the most interesting part of a trip to New Guinea. It is difficult to describe what exactly is so unique about these festivals because there is just too much happening at once. You have to see and experience it yourself. For lunch, there is a picnic but you can also eat the food from the traditional earth pit if you like. The freshly cooked pork and sweet potatoes are delicious! In the late afternoon, we return to the Resort.
The pig festival takes place in changing villages. Precise information on travel times cannot be provided. 1 hour walking. Guide included. Accommodation: The Baliem Valley Resort.
Tour 2: Traditional sweet potato cooking and optional hike in the Sekan Mountains
After breakfast, we hike directly from the Resort to a nearby Dani settlement, surrounded by beautiful mountain scenery. Here, we join the villagers in harvesting sweet potatoes, the most important staple food of the highlands. We fill traditional noken carrying nets, gather firewood and other materials, and prepare the sweet potatoes in the traditional way using hot stones in an earthen pit. Once the food is ready, we sit down with the villagers and enjoy the freshly prepared meal together. This day is a nice opportunity to experience everyday Dani life in a quiet and authentic setting. After lunch, guests can either return to the Resort or continue on an optional two-hour hike through the nearby Sekan Mountains. The trail follows a mountain ridge with beautiful views across the Baliem Valley and passes traditional gardens, small Dani settlements and varied highland vegetation before returning to the Resort in the afternoon.
Transportation: 1-3 hours walking. A day without car. With local guide. Accommodation: The Baliem Valley Resort. Meals: full board.
Tour 3: Hiking in the southern Baliem Valley and encounters with the Dani people
Today we visit the southern Baliem Valley for a scenic hike of moderate difficulty. Starting in the village of Sogogmo, we follow the mighty Baliem River deeper into the valley. We cross suspension bridges and walk through Dani settlements, meeting people along the way and seeing them working in their terraced fields and wild sugar cane groves. For lunch, we enjoy a picnic with a magnificent view over the river and the narrow valley. We then return along the other side of the river, passing more traditional fields and settlements before meeting our driver again. As we are hiking in mountainous terrain, several short ascents and descents are part of the route. This is one of the hikes in the Baliem Valley that takes us through villages without road access and gives a good impression of everyday life in the more remote parts of the valley. In the late afternoon, we return to the Resort.
Transportation: 2 hours of drive. 4 hours hiking. Local guide included. Accommodation: The Baliem Valley Resort. Meals: full board.
Tour 4: The impressive Kotilola Cave, the Meagaima mummy and a visit to Papuan coffee farmers
After breakfast, we drive to the famous Kotilola Cave with its gigantic stalactites and stalagmites. Parts of the cave have collapsed over time, allowing sunlight to enter and lush vegetation to flourish. With a torch, you can explore a little deeper into the cave until reaching an underground river. The cave is also home to a large colony of bats. After visiting the cave, we continue along the Baliem River until we reach a small village. From here, we cross the river one by one in traditional dugout canoes before walking to the village of Meagaima. Here, we visit one of the very few preserved Dani chief’s mummies. Due to its remote location, this mummy is only rarely visited by tourists. There is also time to relax for a while in one of the traditional huts before returning across the river. We then continue by car to the village of Pugima, where we meet local coffee farmers and enjoy a freshly roasted cup of Papua highland coffee. Grown at high altitude in fertile volcanic soil and cultivated using traditional methods, the coffee is known for its rich and complex flavour with notes of fruit, chocolate and earthiness. You’ll witness the entire process, from tree to cup, all done by the same family. In the afternoon, we return to the resort. Please note: After periods of heavy rainfall, the mummy in Meagaima may become inaccessible. In that case, we will instead visit the chief’s mummy in Aikima village.
Transportation: 2 hours of drive. 2-3 hours walking. Local guide included. Accommodation: The Baliem Valley Resort. Meals: full board.
Tour 5: Excursion to Lake Habema, the highest lake in all of Indonesia
After an early breakfast, we drive to Lake Habbema. As we climb higher into the mountains, the savannah-like landscape of the Baliem Valley gives way to spectacular mountain rainforest with enormous tree ferns and screw pines covered in moss, lichens and climbing plants. Eventually, the forest disappears altogether and opens into the very different alpine landscape surrounding the lake. At around 3.200 metres, Lake Habbema lies on a vast highland plateau surrounded by meadows, rhododendrons, orchids and other alpine plants. The unusual vegetation and almost otherworldly landscape make this one of the most unique environments in Papua. The lake also has an interesting history. During Richard Archbold’s famous expedition to New Guinea in 1938, his Catalina seaplane landed on Lake Habbema, which became an important base for the exploration of the surrounding highlands and the Baliem Valley. We enjoy a picnic by the lake and, if the weather is clear, have spectacular views towards Mount Trikora. Afterwards, we go for a walk along the lake, and those who don’t mind the cold can even go for a swim! We return to the Resort in the afternoon.
Transportation: 3 hours of 4×4 drive. 2-3 hours walking. Local guide included. Accommodation: The Baliem Valley Resort. Meals: full board.
Tour 6: Preparation of Buah Merah at Suroba Village and a scenic hike through the Baliem Valley
After breakfast, we drive to the village of Suroba. Before reaching the village, we cross a traditional bridge and continue on a short walk to the settlement. Suroba is a picturesque Dani village surrounded by pandanus trees, whose distinctive red fruit, Buah Merah (“Red Fruit”), has been an important part of the local diet for generations. The villagers will demonstrate the traditional preparation of Buah Merah before we begin a scenic 10 km hike through a beautiful and less-visited part of the Baliem Valley. The trail first leads through open grasslands with scattered gardens and small fields before climbing gently onto a low mountain ridge with beautiful views across the valley. At the end of the hike, we reach a small settlement with a church, school, and playground. From here, we return to the Resort by car. Those who still feel fit enough can also continue for another 5 km uphill and hike back to the Resort.
Transportation: 1 hour of drive. 3-4 hours hiking. Local guide included. Accommodation: The Baliem Valley Resort. Meals: full board.
Tour 7: Hike to a Dani salt water spring and visit of the famous Jiwika Mummy
Today we drive to the village of Jiwika where we meet local Dani women of the Dugum clan who escort us to their salt water spring. Together, we hike through a fairy-tale mountain rainforest to reach the hidden spring. Up there, they show us the old techniques of salt gathering. Then we all enjoy a picnic before hiking down to the village and admire the 300 years old mummy of the clan. Seated in the men’s house, it is still decorated with its godeka and hair ornaments. It is a popular place because such mummies are very rare and usually difficult to see. Return to the Resort in the afternoon.
Transportation: 2 hours of drive. 2-3 hours hiking (+500m). Guide included. Accommodation: The Baliem Valley Resort.