5th to 7th August 2025
The Sepik River Crocodile Festival is a three-day cultural celebration staged annually in Ambunti, East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea.
Experience one of East Sepik’s popular and most exciting cultural festivals.
The Sepik River Crocodile Festival highlights the importance of the crocodile and its cultural significance to the people of the Sepik River.
The Sepik River is one of the largest rivers in the Asia-Pacific region and is home to some of the world’s largest freshwater and saltwater crocodile populations.
In Sepik culture men and crocodile share a special bond. The Crocodile symbolizes strength, power and manhood. Skin-cutting initiations continue in Sepik River communities where men proudly wear scars cut into their skin during the rite of passage. These scars, resembling the back of a crocodile, run from the shoulder to the hip.
Crocodiles are significant to the Sepik culture where they have cultural traditions, beliefs and legends based on this ancient animal.
The festival is held every year, August 5th – 7th.
