Madang

Madang sits on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, facing the Bismarck Sea. The town occupies a peninsula indented with bays, with parks, lagoons and large shade trees, and with islets and reefs only a few minutes by boat from the center. It was founded by the Germans in 1884 under the name Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen.

Occupied by the Japanese in 1942 and retaken by Australian forces in April 1944, the town emerged from the war almost destroyed and was rebuilt. The Coastwatchers Memorial lighthouse on the tip of Kalibobo honors the watchers who informed the Allies about Japanese movements; the first sightings of Japanese forces in the region were made offshore from Madang in December 1941.

The bay islands, such as Kranket and Siar, have beaches, villages and reefs for snorkeling, and divers come for the corals and the wrecks of wartime ships and planes. South of the town, the village of Bilbil preserves the pottery that was traded along the coast, and the Balek sanctuary has a sulfurous spring that issues from a limestone cave.

The province has more than 170 languages, and volcanic islands Karkar and Manam appear on the horizon.

This destination brings together 1 city: Madang.