Kumul Lodge

Kumul Lodge sits at around 2,800 metres on the road between Mount Hagen and Wabag, and it is known among birders worldwide for one thing: a feeding table set outside the dining room where fruit is put out and birds come in at close range, including the ribbon-tailed astrapia, a bird-of-paradise whose males carry tail streamers around a metre long, along with brown sicklebills, Belford's melidectes and other montane species. Seeing these birds usually takes hours in wet forest; here they come to a table a few metres away. Trails run into the moss forest behind the lodge for the species that will not come in. The lodge is simple and cold at night.

What you actually see

• The feeding table - the astrapias and sicklebills coming in close.
• Ribbon-tailed astrapia - the long-tailed bird-of-paradise of this altitude.
• Moss forest trails - the walks behind the lodge for other species.
• The high setting - the montane forest at 2,800 metres.

When to go

May to October in the drier season; birds come to the table year round and early morning is the peak activity. Nights are cold at this altitude in any month. Booking well ahead is necessary in the birding season.

Honest expectations

The lodge is simple, cold and basic by international standards, which surprises people paying birding-tour prices. Feeding-table viewing is a managed encounter. The road from Mount Hagen should be travelled by arrangement. Rain and cloud are frequent.

Nearby

Mount Hagen lies southeast; Wabag is northwest.