Mount Hagen is famous in Papua New Guinea for its beauty, the fine fruit and veg they grow, but also the biggest tribal festival in the country. Is there though nightlife in Mount Hagen? There most certainly is, and of course The Street Food Guy has done the research so that you don’t have to…..
An overview of nightlife in Mount Hagen
Mount Hagen is not Port Moresby, both from a good and bad point of view. From a good point of view it means that it is much safer, but from a bad point of view the nightlife is spartan that it makes Pyongyang look like Ibiza.
That is not to say that there is nothing going on though and there are international bars, local bars, bottle shops and even the indigenous moonshine you can sample.
Nightlife in Mount Hagen can you buy booze?
If its not one lectin booze is easily gotten from bottle shops. Beers are usually of the SP variety, but cost about 3 bucks even at these stores, more so in bars. Cheap vodka can also be gotten for around the 15 bucks mark, as well as Captain Moresby, which will get its own article at some point.
Mixers such as the local Gold Spot are cheap and even when there is a ban one can get hold of it if they know the right people.
As well as “normal” booze you can also buy 250ml bottles of firewater, which costs just 3 busks and packs a kick. It is though not the best Paia Wara in the country, but I digress…..
Once booze has ben purchased you can then go somewhere like the excellent Kuri Lodge to knock it back……
Best bars in Mount Hagen
So, to the crux of the matter, what are the best bars to drink in it Mount Hagen? For this we can offer a few different nightlife options, from high end to downright down and dirty.
On the top end of the scale we have the Highlander Hotel, which also has a greta restaurant, as well as a pool table and live Rugby League, the national sport of Papua New Guinea.
Next down I would put he wonderful Mount Hagen Club, a sports/members club that will let in foreign folk if you are polite. Our local friends said drug dealers hang out here, but I personally can say I was not offered anything good (or bad). In the same vein you also have the Mount Hagen Bowling Alley, which is a great place to hang out with locals, as well as a grab a brew.
Under this you have the multitude of local bars, which often have private rooms, as well as popular bars that locals hang out in. For these you really should go with a local who knows the place. Hagen is no POM, but it is also not somewhere you go flying too reckless.
And lastly my personal favorite is to head to a village and drink Paia Wara!
You can join me on our Mount Hagen Tour, usually led by The Street Food Guy!