Papua New Guinea / IndonesiaIsland
New Guinea
785,753 km² rising to 4,884 m out of the Arafura Sea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
785,753km²
Area
10,177km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
4,884m
Highest point
Puncak Jaya
11,300,000
People
30°C
Warmest sea
December
110km
To the mainland
When to go to New Guinea
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in December (30 °C) and coolest in August (27 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in the Pacific Ocean
New Guinea is an island in Papua New Guinea. It covers 785,753 km², with 10,177 km of coastline. Its highest point, Puncak Jaya, rises to 4,884 m. About 11,300,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 110 km away.
Getting there
- Dortheys Hiyo Eluay International Airport (DJJ)main airport (24 on the island with scheduled flights)
- 110 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on New Guinea.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
New Guinea in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside New Guinea, each with its own numbers.
32beaches and covesCoastya
65lakesLakeyas
6waterfallsCascadyas
Tallest waterfall
200m
Anenderat Waterfall
according to Cascadyas
Largest lake
587km²
Lake Murray
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
30.3°C
Danau Nisa
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
29.9°C
Teluk Naaf
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
32 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Ela Beach29.3°C
- Taurama Beach29.4°C
- Eroro Beach29.8°C
- Scarlet Beach29.6°C
- Pantai Batu Rumah29.8°C
- Teluk Horpehacove29.6°C
- Challenger Covecove29.6°C
- Ibbekuang Baycove29.6°C
24 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
65 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Lake Murray587km²
- Lake Rombebai139km²
- Lake Sentani89.5km²
- Kai Lagoon61.7km²
- Lake Kutubu51.8km²
- Jamur Lake37.3km²
- Danau Tigi35.8km²
- Sirinumu Dam26.8km²
57 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
6 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Anenderat Waterfall200m
- Wenyef Waterfall82m
- Wawoi Falls
- Beaver Falls
- Tere Falls
- Napua Waterfall
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
1,000 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Jayapura410,852 people
- Port Moresby283,733 people
- Timika142,909 people
- Manokwari132,300 people
- Merauke116,864 people
- Nabire99,848 people
- Lae76,255 people
- Wamena66,080 people
- Abepura62,248 people
- Sentani44,779 people
- Mulia35,884 people
- Mount Hagen33,623 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Night low (°C) | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Rain (mm) | 301 | 312 | 404 | 359 | 343 | 301 | 196 | 212 | 281 | 254 | 325 | 384 |
| Wet days | 26 | 24 | 27 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 25 |
| Sun h/day | 5.2 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 5.2 |
| Wind (km/h) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.6 |
| 2022 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +1.6 | +1.4 | +1.1 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.5 |
| 2025 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q40285) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
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