Kokoda Track

The Kokoda Track is not a national park in the classic sense but a 96 km trekking route through the dense montane rainforest of Papua New Guinea which in 1942 was the setting of one of the hardest land campaigns of the Second World War in the Pacific, when Australian troops halted the Japanese advance on Port Moresby in extreme conditions of terrain, climate and tropical disease. Walking the route today — a demanding trek of between 4 and 12 days depending on the itinerary — has become a common historical pilgrimage for Australians seeking to honour the fallen, with local Papuan guides and porters from the communities along it running much of the associated tourism directly.