Mount Bosavi

Bosavi is an extinct volcano rising to around 2,500 metres on the southern edge of the highlands, and its collapsed crater is around four kilometres across with walls up to a kilometre high, holding rainforest that has been isolated from the surrounding lowlands for a long period. A 2009 expedition working in the crater documented a substantial number of species new to science, including a very large woolly rat, frogs, fish and insects, which brought the mountain brief international attention. The Kaluli and other communities live on the flanks and hold the land. Reaching the crater means flying to a bush airstrip and walking for days with guides and landowner permission.

What you actually see

• The crater - the four-kilometre collapsed caldera and its walls.
• Isolated forest - the vegetation inside the crater.
• The flank villages - the Kaluli and neighbouring communities.
• The approach - the airstrip and the days of walking in.

When to go

May to October in the drier season, though rain is constant in this region. Expeditions need arranging months ahead with guides, landowners and charter flights.

Honest expectations

This is an expedition, not a trip: charter flights, days of walking, camping, and permission negotiated with landowners. There is no infrastructure of any kind. Rain, leeches and difficult terrain are constant. Costs are high and arrangements fragile.

Nearby

Lake Kutubu lies north; the Great Papuan Plateau is south.