Goroka
Location within Papua New Guinea
Country
1,546 m (5,072 ft)
• Total
19,523
• Rank
Postcode
Location
423 km (263 mi) from Port Moresby
Goroka is the capital of the Eastern Highlands ProvinceofPapua New Guinea. It is a town of approximately 19,000 people (2000), 1,600 meters (5,200 feet) above sea level. It has an airport (in the centre of town) and is on the "Highlands Highway", about 285 km (177 mi) from LaeinMorobe province and 90 km (56 mi) from the nearby town of Kainantu also in the Eastern Highlands. Other nearby towns include KundiawainSimbu Province and Mount HageninWestern Highlands Province. It has a mild climate, known as a "perpetual Spring".
It is the home of several national institutions: CRMF Christian Radio Missionary Fellowship, the PNG Institute of Medical Research, the National Film Institute, the Liturgical Catechetical Institute, the Melanesian Institute, the Raun Raun Theatre Company and the University of Goroka. Several NGOs also have presences there, including Oxfam and Save the Children. The town's single largest hotel is the Bird of Paradise, owned by the Coral Seas Hotels chain.
Coffee is a common cash crop in the area; smaller industries include trout farms, pigs, bee keeping and food gardens (broccoli, kau kau or sweet potato, carrots, ginger and peanuts are examples of produce that grow well here; nearby Bena Bena is known for its pineapples).
In May, Goroka hosts the PNG Coffee Festival.
The Goroka Show event takes place annually around the time of the country's Independence Day (September 16). It continues for two or three days. The Goroka Show is the oldest show in Papua New Guinea, over 50 years of "keeping the spirit alive".
Goroka has a subtropical highland climate (Cfb). Due to altitude Goroka features warm to very warm afternoons and cool to mild mornings year-round, with heavy rainfall most of the year and low rainfall from June to September.
Climate data for Goroka
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
25.5
(77.9)
25.5
(77.9)
25.1
(77.2)
25.2
(77.4)
25.3
(77.5)
24.4
(75.9)
24.0
(75.2)
24.5
(76.1)
24.9
(76.8)
25.3
(77.5)
25.9
(78.6)
25.4
(77.7)
25.1
(77.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)
19.9
(67.8)
20.1
(68.2)
19.8
(67.6)
19.8
(67.6)
19.7
(67.5)
18.8
(65.8)
18.6
(65.5)
18.9
(66.0)
19.1
(66.4)
19.4
(66.9)
19.7
(67.5)
19.8
(67.6)
19.5
(67.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
14.4
(57.9)
14.7
(58.5)
14.6
(58.3)
14.4
(57.9)
14.2
(57.6)
13.3
(55.9)
13.2
(55.8)
13.3
(55.9)
13.4
(56.1)
13.5
(56.3)
13.5
(56.3)
14.3
(57.7)
13.9
(57.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches)
229
(9.0)
249
(9.8)
232
(9.1)
181
(7.1)
117
(4.6)
62
(2.4)
55
(2.2)
65
(2.6)
99
(3.9)
159
(6.3)
163
(6.4)
229
(9.0)
1,840
(72.4)
Source: [1]
Goroka is the birthplace of ex-Premier of Tasmania Lara Giddings
Goroka travel guide from Wikivoyage
International
National
