Port MoresbyCapital
Papua New Guinea · Country profile
Port Moresby is the sprawling, rugged capital of Papua New Guinea, the port city of the Coral Sea that spreads across the hills and the plains of the southern coast of the country, beside the fine natural harbour that first drew the colonial and the wartime town of the Gulf of Papua. It is a frontier city of the enormous contrasts, where the modern institutions and the banks of the downtown sit amid the astonishing energy, the informal settlements and the mountain-fringed terrain of the capital, and where the diverse peoples of the whole country converge in the single great urban world of the nation. The parliament buildings with their famous artwork, the national museum and the viewpoints of the hills anchor the essential visits, while the coral reefs and the island of the harbour, the nature parks of the interior and the markets of the city carry the daily life of the capital. Rough, dramatic and completely absorbing, Port Moresby is the beating urban heart of the great island nation.
About Port Moresby
Port Moresby is the capital of Papua New Guinea. The city's documented population is around 402,000 people. For visitors from abroad, the local currency is the Papua New Guinean Kina (PGK) and English and Tok Pisin are spoken; the dialling code is +675. It is served by 1 airport in our guide: Jacksons International Airport.
The Parliament of the Nation and the Tours of the Arts
Port Moresby is a city of the institutions and the harbour, with the parliament, the national museum and the gardens of the city anchoring the curated days, while the markets, the motu villages of the coast and the viewpoints of the hills fill the spaces between. The boats of the harbour reach the island of the launch with its wrecks, its reefs and its wartime relics, and the nature parks of the city, with their birds of paradise and their tree kangaroos, bring the wildlife of the country into the capital. The careful planning and the local guidance of the city reward the visitor with the intense, unfamiliar reality of the Papua New Guinean capital, a true frontier world of the South Pacific.
The Museum and the National Park of the Capital
The climate of the city is the warm, humid tropical of the southern coast, with the heavy rains of the wet months and the drier, salubrious season of the southern winter, when the trade winds moderate the heat of the town. The kina is the currency and the English and the Tok Pisin the languages of the city. The parliament, the museum and the parks make the core circuit, and movement through the capital follows the guidance and the advice of the local residents. Light clothing, insect protection and early, planned days with a trusted local partner complete the responsible preparation for the demanding city.
The Island of the Harbour and the Relics of the War
The parliament building of the capital, the extraordinary house of the nation whose façade carries the mosaic mural of the country and whose interior is decorated with the carvings and the artefacts of the many provinces, strings the visiting public through the superb cultural tour of the building. The national museum of the city, with its incomparable collection of the masks, the carvings and the shields of the peoples of the country, is the essential cultural treasury of the capital, and the national park of the nearby hills, with its birds of paradise and its exotic butterflies, brings the natural wonders of the island to the edge of the town. The island of the harbour, the wartime islet with the bullet-scarred tunnel of the Japanese command and the reefs of its surrounding waters, and the fish market of the capital at the port, complete the rough, rich, quite unforgettable identity of the Papua New Guinean capital.
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- Country
- Papua New Guinea
- Population
- 402,000
- Coordinates
- -9.4434, 147.2200
- Capital
- Port Moresby
- Region
- Oceania
- Currency
- Papua New Guinean Kina (PGK)
- Languages
- English, Tok Pisin
- Calling code
- +675
- Country code
- PG
Getting to Port Moresby
Airports we list for Port Moresby:
Frequently asked questions
Is Port Moresby the capital of Papua New Guinea?
Yes — Port Moresby is the capital of Papua New Guinea.
What currency do I need in Port Moresby?
The local currency is the Papua New Guinean Kina (PGK). Languages spoken in Papua New Guinea include English and Tok Pisin.
What is the dialling code for Papua New Guinea?
The international dialling code for Papua New Guinea is +675.
Which airport should I fly into for Port Moresby?
Jacksons International Airport (POM) is the airport we list for Port Moresby.
Flying out of Port Moresby? Check the entry requirements for your destination in our entry requirements tool before you fly.