Kokoda Track

For the World War II campaign, see Kokoda Track campaign.

The Kokoda Track
Length96 km (60 mi)
LocationPapua New Guinea
TrailheadsKokoda / Owers' Corner
UseWalking
Highest pointMount Bellamy, 2,490 m (8,170 ft)
Lowest pointUa'Ule Creek, 300 m (980 ft)
DifficultyHard
SeasonAll
SightsWWII History, Jungle, Mountains
Location of the Kokoda Track within Papua New Guinea
Map of the Kokoda Track as it was in 1942. The map is rotated to have NE bearing at the top of the page.
Map of the Kokoda Track as it was in 1942. The map is rotated to have NE bearing at the top of the page.

The Kokoda Track or Trail is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs 96 kilometres (60 mi) overland – 60 kilometres (37 mi) in a straight line – through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track was the location of the 1942 World War II battle between Japanese and Allied – primarily Australian – forces in what was then the Australian territory of Papua.

The track runs from Owers' Corner in Central Province, 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of Port Moresby, across rugged and isolated terrain which is only passable on foot, to the village of Kokoda in Oro Province. It reaches a height of 2,490 metres (8,169 ft) as it passes around the peak of Mount Bellamy.[1] The track travels primarily through the land of the Mountain Koiari people.

Hot, humid days with intensely cold nights, torrential rainfall and the risk of endemic tropical diseases such as malaria make it a challenging trek. Hiking the trail normally takes between four and twelve days; the fastest recorded time is 16 hours 34 minutes.

  1. ^ Pérusse, Yvon (July 1993). Bushwalking in Papua New Guinea (2 ed.). Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia, Berkeley, Calif: Lonely Planet. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-86442-052-7.