About the Kokoda Track Expeditions
The Kokoda Track is often referred to as "The Great Pilgrimage", a journey that will take you to one of Australia's most important WWII battle sites and immerse you in that history. Walking the Kokoda Track will transport you to another time, when Australia was in danger of being invaded by the seemingly unstoppable Imperial Japanese Army. You will gain a great appreciation of the conditions endured by Australian Diggers and gain an understanding of local living conditions and cultures as well as the natural wonders of the Owen Stanley Ranges.
Walking the Kokoda Track involves 50 hours of hiking over 96km of sharp, timbered ridges, steep-sided valleys and fast flowing rivers. Vantage points along the Track reveal magnificent mountain landscapes, and a wide variety of flora and fauna is encountered. Trekkers pass through local villages where descendents of the wartime “fuzzy wuzzy angels” continue to live simple traditional lifestyles while providing a warm welcome to passing trekkers.
This expedition is considered difficult as there are long walks over elevated terrain and up and down narrow jungle trails. Accommodation is in tents or basic huts (guest houses) on the expedition and in standard hotel accommodation in Port Moresby. Some days are long hauls of seven to ten hours through humid and hot terrain. The expedition gives trekkers a real sense of what Australian Diggers had to deal with during WWII.
The best time of the year to walk the Kokoda Track is the dry season, from April to October. A popular time to trek is over the ANZAC Day period where many Australians attend ANZAC Day ceremonies either along the Kokoda Track or at Bomana War Cemetery, a very moving event indeed. Walking during the wet season is also possible but is much more challenging because the Kokoda Track is muddy and slippery, and river crossings may even be impassable after rain.
Walking the Kokoda Track involves 50 hours of hiking over 96km of sharp, timbered ridges, steep-sided valleys and fast flowing rivers. Vantage points along the Track reveal magnificent mountain landscapes, and a wide variety of flora and fauna is encountered. Trekkers pass through local villages where descendents of the wartime “fuzzy wuzzy angels” continue to live simple traditional lifestyles while providing a warm welcome to passing trekkers.
This expedition is considered difficult as there are long walks over elevated terrain and up and down narrow jungle trails. Accommodation is in tents or basic huts (guest houses) on the expedition and in standard hotel accommodation in Port Moresby. Some days are long hauls of seven to ten hours through humid and hot terrain. The expedition gives trekkers a real sense of what Australian Diggers had to deal with during WWII.
The best time of the year to walk the Kokoda Track is the dry season, from April to October. A popular time to trek is over the ANZAC Day period where many Australians attend ANZAC Day ceremonies either along the Kokoda Track or at Bomana War Cemetery, a very moving event indeed. Walking during the wet season is also possible but is much more challenging because the Kokoda Track is muddy and slippery, and river crossings may even be impassable after rain.
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No Roads Expeditions engages village guest houses along the Track, and tents, to supply accommodation and some meals for our trekkers and porters, thus not only reducing the amount of food and equipment carried by the trekking party, but also injecting greater economic benefits into the micro-economies of the village communities along the Track.
All food, equipment and guides (including an Australian guide) are provided. You only need to bring your personal gear and bedding. Our food includes coconut milk curries, vegetarian pastas, fried rice, prawn crackers, damper etc. We do not use dehydrated vegetables or baked beans, just delicious and nutritious meals. Vegetarians and others with special dietary needs can be catered for providing you inform us in advance. |
No Roads also supplies a portable shower tent so you can either wash in the rivers without soap, or in our shower with soap. The shower is kept well away from water courses. We supply the soap. We can even provide a hot shower anywhere along the Kokoda Track.
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Our porters are well paid, well fed and motivated to provide you with a great experience. They set up tents, boil water, help you along the Track and at night, sing songs in beautiful harmonies. On our trek you will have the choice each night of sleeping in village guest houses or in tents.
Some people debate which way people should walk the Kokoda Track. Either way is hard, both ways are historically correct if you are interested in the battle stories, and in the end it just comes down to personal preference. No Roads has treks that begin from either end however we prefer to trek from Kokoda to Owers' Corner. Note: This eight day seven night trek is a demanding walk that requires an above-average level of fitness. |
We aim for a lower impact and safer expedition by limiting our group size to less than 20 trekking customers per expedition. Typically our expeditions are less than 15 people, not including the porter team members. |
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About the Kokoda Track
- To find out more about the WWII battle history visit the wartime history page.
- The Kokoda Track between Kokoda and Owers' Corner is roughly 96km. From Owers' Corner to Kokoda as the crow flies is about 60km. View the virtual Kokoda Track.
- One trekker recorded over 25,000 steps on a pedometer in one day.
- If you total all the uphill climbing along the track, it comes to more than 5000m of elevation gain (5km of ups and 5km of going down).
- One of the best sections is between Menari and Kagi, although the nicest forests are found at the higher elevations between Kagi Gap and Templeton's Crossing
- The highest point on the track is 2190m on Mt Bellamy.
- 'Kokoda' is an Orokaiva word meaning 'place of skulls'.
- The track has very few sign-posts at all, is literally a track and snakes over at least 13 ranges or peaks.
