The Highlands Highway, sometimes known as the Okuk Highway, is the main land highway in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

. It connects several major cities and is vital for the movement of people and goods between the populous Highlands region and the coast.

For most of its length the Highlands Highway is no more than a single carriageway

Carriageway

A carriageway consists of a width of road on which a vehicle is not restricted by any physical barriers or separation to move laterally...

 two-lane road which is often hindered by potholes and land slips. It is also notorious, particularly in the Highlands region, for being the place of numerous armed hold-ups and robberies committed by local bandits called rascals .

Description

The highway begins in Lae

Lae

Lae, the capital of Morobe Province, is the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is located at the start of the Highlands Highway which is the main land transport corridor from the Highlands region to the coast...

 and travels through the Markham Valley

Markham Valley

Markham Valley is a geographical area in New Guinea. It is described as "Flatter than a pancake for miles and miles in all directions, until it runs into the mountains that surround it on three sides" and "Always hot, and usually bone dry." The Highlands Highway runs through the valley. The Markham...

 and the province of Morobe

Morobe

Morobe may refer to several places in Papua New Guinea:*Morobe Province*Morobe, Papua New Guinea*Morobe Goldfield *Morobe Bay...

. A branch continues through the Ramu Valley in Madang Province

Madang Province

Madang is a province on the northern coast of mainland Papua New Guinea. The province has many of the country's highest peaks, active volcanoes and its biggest mix of languages...

 and ends at the coast at the provincial capital of Madang

Madang

Madang is the capital of Madang Province and is a town with a population of 27,420 on the north coast of Papua New Guinea. It was first settled by the Germans in the 19th century....

. From the Markham Valley the Highlands Highway runs up and over the approximately 1500 metre high Kassam Pass

Kassam Pass

The Kassam Pass is a road pass on the Highlands Highway in Papua New Guinea. The pass connects the Markham Valley to the fertile Highlands region and is administratively located in the Eastern Highlands Province...

 and into the Eastern Highlands Province. It passes over the wall of Yonki Dam

Yonki Dam

Yonki Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam over the Ramu River that supports the Ramu 1 hydroelectric power plant and the Yonki Toe of Dam power plantYonki Dam is located in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea....

 and then travels through the towns of Kainantu

Kainantu

Kainantu is a town in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. It had some historical significance as an airstrip town during WWII. It functions primarily as a market town for local produce growers and cash croppers. It is located on the "Highlands Highway" approximately 170 km by road from Lae...

 and Henganofi to the provincial capital, Goroka

Goroka

Goroka is the capital of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. It is a town of approximately 19,000 people , 1600m above sea level. It has an airport and is on the "Highlands Highway", about 285 km from Lae in Morobe province and 90 km from the nearby town of Kainantu also...

. From here it travels up and then over the 2478 m (8,130 ft) high Daulo Pass and crosses into Simbu Province

Simbu Province

Simbu, also known as Chimbu, is a Highlands Region province in Papua New Guinea. The province has an area of 6,100 km² and a population of 259,703 . The capital of the province is Kundiawa...

 and through to its capital of Kundiawa

Kundiawa

Kundiawa is the capital of Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea, with a population of 8,147 . It lies along the Highlands Highway approximately halfway between Goroka and Mount Hagen, respectively the capitals of the Eastern Highlands and Western Highlands provinces.It is a relatively small town,...

.

After Kundiawa the highway reaches the Wahgi valley, which marks the start of the Western Highlands Province. It continues through to the provincial capital of Mount Hagen

Mount Hagen

Mount Hagen is third largest city in Papua New Guinea. It is the capital of the Western Highlands Province and is located in the large fertile Wahgi Valley in central mainland Papua New Guinea, at an elevation of ....

 and then at a village called Togoba, it splits. A southern branch continues on to the Southern Highlands province and its capital of Mendi

Mendi

Mendi, Papua New Guinea, is the provincial capital of the Southern Highlands Province....

 before going on to Tari

Tari, Papua New Guinea

Tari Is the centre of Huli country in the Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea. It is the second largest settlement in the province, and accessible by road from Mendi.-Aviation Accidents:...

. The other branch goes to Enga

Enga Province

Enga refers to both an ethnic group located in the highlands of Papua New Guinea and the province in which they are the majority ethnic group.-Physical geography:...

 province and its capital of Wabag

Wabag

Wabag is the capital of Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. It is the least populous provincial capital in the country. It is on the Lai River; the Highlands Highway passes through the town, between Mount Hagen and Porgera...

 before ending at the mining town of Porgera.

Maintenance issues

In 2006 the eastern section of the highway (Lae-Goroka) was resurfaced by the Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n government AusAid Program. Several Japanese and Taiwanese projects have contributed to rebuilding or replacement of important bridges. The Porgera Gold Mine

Porgera Gold Mine

The Porgera Gold Mine is a large gold and silver mining operation in Enga province, Papua New Guinea , located at the head of the Porgera Valley. The mine is situated in the rain forest covered highlands at an altitude of 2,200 to 2,700 m, in a region of high rainfall, landslides, and frequent...

 (PJV) is a major user of the Highlands Highway for transport of all its consumables and equipment from Lae port, and consequently spends an enormous amount of time and money on maintaining the road - most often the portion from Mt Hagen to Porgera, upgrading cuttings, bridges and culverts.

The highway is subject to frequent landslides and washouts. In April 2008, the section of the highway passing through Simbu Province

Simbu Province

Simbu, also known as Chimbu, is a Highlands Region province in Papua New Guinea. The province has an area of 6,100 km² and a population of 259,703 . The capital of the province is Kundiawa...

was impassable at three separate points over different periods. The most serious of these destroyed a 150-metre section of the highway at Gera village, 10 km east of Kundiawa, on 11 April; the upper Highlands provinces were cut off from all road transport.