Expanding on their offering in Papua New Guinea, Intrepid Travel has launched the first ever tour to include the spectacular Baining Firedance Festival.
A cultural spectacle that awakens all the senses, the festival is one of the highlights on the nine-day Papua New Guinea Firedance Festival. This tour is the third tour offered by Intrepid in Papua New Guinea, adding to the Kokoda Trek and National Mask Festival.
With very limited departures per year, this is a niche trip with small group numbers. It’s perfect for those interested in tribal cultures, war history, village life or volcanic landscapes – or who simply love to take the path less travelled.
The actual Firedance Festival, based in East New Britain province in the islands of Papua New Guinea, is held across two days as local villagers invite you into their communities and perform traditional dancing rituals.
Papua New Guinea has an abundance of unique cultures and subcultures and the Firedance Festival gives an insight into how culturally diverse the region is. There are over 50 masked performances and each one is as unique as the other. You will also get an insight on how kind, welcoming and friendly the Papua New Guinean people are as they show their colours through the cultural celebrations.
Giving further insight into each individual cultural performance is thanks to the research of a man called Dr Jacob Simet, who has translated the narrative of each individual cultural group so that you can see, hear, feel and understand each performance at the festival.
This event is a community driven initiative with over 1200 performers in attendance and many more help prepare for the event. Bringing tourists to the festival consistently will allow for many people from rural communities to benefit. Unlike other events in Papua New Guinea where the show ground is within town, this event brings tourism directly into the villages. So, when you purchase goods and items your tourism dollar goes directly into the villages.
Along with this festival, travellers will discover the wild beauty of the Duke of York Islands, learn of the fascinating military history of East New Britain, encounter resident spinner dolphins, and let local island life delight your senses.
Working with Intrepid on the ground operations is South Sea Horizons. General Manager Alan Manning said, “Intrepid Travel are a great fit for us here in Papua New Guinea as there are some good synergies between our companies.”
“They don’t compromise on Responsible Tourism practices and we like that about Intrepid Travel. They attract tourists who are respectful, well-travelled and adventurous which we find get the best out of Papua New Guinea as a destination.”
Born and raised in Papua New Guinea, Alan Manning said in Papua New Guinea there is an abundance of unique cultures and East New Britain province is no exception to this.
“But what makes this Firedance Festival unique is it has over 50 different masked tribes or clans and each one is as unique as the other.”
To find out more about the Papua New Guinea Firedance Festival with Intrepid, visit https://www.intrepidtravel.com/au/papua-new-guinea/firedance-festival-papua-new-guinea-limited-edition-128206
