What is the Goroka Show?
Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries on earth, with hundreds of languages and peoples, many of them living in the steep valleys of the central highlands. Once a year, in the town of Goroka, capital of Eastern Highlands Province, more than a hundred groups from across the country gather to perform for each other at the Goroka Show, the country's best-known cultural festival.
The show began in the 1950s, an initiative of Australian kiaps, the patrol officers who administered the highlands before independence. It was meant to bring together tribes that had often been at war, and to let them compete in dance and display rather than in fighting. Around 10,000 people came to the first one. It has been held most years since, close to Papua New Guinea's Independence Day on September 16, and 2026 was its 70th anniversary.
What the groups perform is the sing-sing: dance, song and drumming, in bilas, the traditional finery of each place. That might mean towering headdresses of bird-of-paradise and cassowary feathers, faces painted in bold red, yellow and white, shells and pig tusks, grass skirts, or the clay masks and grey mud of the Asaro Mudmen. Each group's dress is its own, and its own pride.
What to expect
The show runs over three days, usually Friday to Sunday, at the National Sports Institute grounds on the edge of town.
Before the show
Getting ready
Groups arrive in Goroka over the preceding days and dress in the early morning, a long process of painting and fitting headdresses. Visitors who arrive early can often watch the preparations, which many find as memorable as the show.
Show days
The sing-sing
Group after group parades into the arena with drums and chants, dancing in circles and lines, many of them for hours. The grounds are crowded with performers, families from Goroka and visitors from across the country and abroad, and you can walk among the groups between performances.
Around the show
Market and town
The show is also an agricultural fair, with produce, crafts and stalls. Goroka's market and coffee, grown in the surrounding hills, are worth a morning.
Asaro Mudmen resting beside their clay masks at the Goroka Show
Photo by Anselmo Lastra / flickr · CC BY 2.0
Planning your trip
Getting there
There are no roads from Port Moresby, the capital, to the highlands, so almost everyone flies. Domestic flights from Port Moresby to Goroka take about an hour, and seats fill up around the show, so book them with your international flights. Within Goroka, use transport arranged by your hotel or tour operator.
Where to stay
Goroka has a small number of hotels and guesthouses, and they are booked out for show week, often a year ahead. Many visitors come on organized tours that include accommodation, transport and a guide, which is the simplest way to get rooms at all.
What it costs
Entry to the show is ticketed, with higher prices for foreign visitors than for locals, but it is not the main cost. Flights to and within Papua New Guinea are expensive, rooms in Goroka are scarce and priced accordingly in show week, and a guided tour, which most visitors use, adds more. This is one of the costliest festivals in this guide to reach.
Go like you know
- Arrive early on show mornings to see the groups dressing; it's the closest you'll get to the performers.
- Bring cash in small kina notes for entry, food and portraits.
- Buy bilum bags, the colourful string bags of the highlands, directly from the women who make them.
- Indonesia's Baliem Valley Festival, on the other side of New Guinea, is another great highland gathering.
- For a festival where many tribes come together in one place, see Nagaland's Hornbill Festival in India.
Frequently asked questions
When is the Goroka Show?
Each September, around Papua New Guinea's Independence Day on September 16, usually over a Friday-to-Sunday weekend. In 2026 it ran from September 18 to 20 for the show's 70th anniversary. The organizers announce the dates each year, so confirm them before booking flights or a tour.
Is it safe to visit?
The show itself is busy but well organized, and visitors who come with a reputable operator generally have a good experience. Papua New Guinea does have serious crime problems, so check official travel advice, travel with a guide, avoid going out at night, and don't carry more valuables than you need.
Should I go to the Goroka Show or the Mount Hagen Show?
Both are great highland gatherings. Goroka's is the older and better known, in September; Mount Hagen's, in the Western Highlands, takes place in August. Some tours combine the two. If you can only manage one, choose by your travel dates and which highland regions you want to see.
