The Mount Hagen Show

The Mount Hagen Show has been celebrating the fascinating customs of local tribes for over 60 years and it is one of the most famous festivals in Guinea. Founded in 1961 before PNG’s independence, the festival was designed as an annual gathering to unify the local tribes.

To this day, the Elpa-speaking tribes of the Western Highlands celebrate with up to 50 other tribes from the provinces of PNG’s Highlands region, including the Jiwaka, Hela, Enga, and Chimbu. This mid-August sing-sing is a festival of costumes, crafts and colors. Traditional dances, singing and ritual performances are all staged, and there is also feasting.

Arrive early to see the dress rehearsals and the groups getting ready for their performances, complete with priceless birds-of-paradise feather headdresses. The legendary Huli Wigmen, with their feathered hair-grown wigs and yellow painted faces, are among the performances, which may have 1,000 or more participants on the showground at any given moment.

When: August
Where: Mount Hagen, Western Highlands, Guinea