ABOUT PAPUA NEW GUINEA:

Papua New Guinea has 600 offshore islands including New Britain, New Ireland and Bougainville. Portuguese Papua New Guinea is based on the eastern half of New Guinea. An independent state, it shares its location with the Indonesian territory of Irian Jaya to the west. Together the two parts form New Guinea, the second largest island in the world after Greenland. Explorer Antonio de Abreu landed in New Guinea in 1512 however it took another three centuries for European missionaries and traders to settle there. Apart from a wealth of mineral resources, these early settlers were enticed by the pearls, sandalwood, copra and beche-de-mer that were found in abundance on the islands.

Papua New Guinea has a diverse landscape with many extremes. The central part of the island rises into a wide ridge of mountains called the Highlands. Around one third of the population live in the rugged and remote regions of the Highlands. This area is thick with vegetation and forests and habited by many cultures and tribes.

Their impenetrable environment kept many of them isolated from contact with the modern world until as late as the 1940s.

Although the area is only slightly larger than California there are nearly four million people living in Papua New Guinea speaking more than 800 different indigenous languages. This diversity has led to many conflicts including the nine-year secessionist war on the island of Bougainville that ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives.

The country has earned itself a reputation for violence, both on the streets of Port Moresby and in the shadowy jungles of the interior. Warfare was traditionally a daily occurrence, usually over land, women or pigs. Despite Western influences, brutal tribal conflicts still erupt regularly, particularly because of the belief in retribution or 'payback'.

Visitors to Papua New Guinea are advised to take extra precautions to ensure personal safety. Car hijackings and armed robberies are a problem in Port Moresby, the capital. Gang rape is also a serious threat for people travelling alone.

There are many organised tours however, which can offer safe passage to some spectacular and unique destinations. Papua New Guinea's coastline has amazing coral reefs that make it one of the world's finest diving destinations. There are also an impressive variety of exotic birds, including virtually all of the known species of birds of paradise, and it has more types of orchids than any other country in the world.

The marketplace in Port Moresby and many craft shops sell superb indigenous art works that include masks, woodcarvings, friezes and statues. Vivid colours, ritualistic designs and primal themes produce many remarkable works from indigenous artists. There are an amazing variety of artworks, largely because of the hundreds of tribes who produced these works with little contact with each other.

Weather is warm to hot and humid throughout the year. There is a rainy season that varies from province to province, however, in general, it is driest from May to December. The air is clean - watch out for sunburn, particularly in the Highlands, even on overcast days.