By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2025-01-03 21:45:06 | Updated at 2025-01-05 21:57:40
2 days ago
A British ‘danger tourist’ on a mission to visit every country has become the first tourist to visit several indigenous tribes in Papua New Guinea.
Daniel Pinto, 27, is 138 countries into visiting all 195 of them and spent three weeks in the Pacific island country last month.
He researched all the tribes in the country before arriving and once he landed he met up with locals who showed him where to go.
During his time in Papua New Guinea, Pinto lived with 10 different tribes – including the skeleton tribe, the crocodile people, and the spirit birds.
He took part in different ceremonies, went to a wedding, went hunting, and would sleep in local homes and guest houses.
Pinto describes Papua New Guinea as “the last frontier” and said it was amazing to visit tribes who had never seen tourists before.
He said the tribes he met were very friendly and welcoming when he arrived in their villages.
Pinto loves to visit countries he says other people deem “dangerous” to explore areas tourists don’t usually see and has been to Libya, Iraq, and Syria.
Daniel, a professional traveller, from Lambeth, south London, said: “Papua New Guinea is one of the last places where you can do stuff that nobody else has done.
“It still has villages and tribes that people have not visited yet.
“I found it incredible that in 2024 I was the first tourist that some tribes have ever seen.
“That is why I love the country, it was incredible and the people were so friendly.”
Pinto – who has visited 138 countries – arrived in Papua New Guinea in early December.
He said he has always wanted to visit the country and spent three weeks traveling across the island living with 10 different tribes.
Pinto said: “It is very raw, very remote, and is considered a bit dangerous.
“People will tell you not to go out at night, there are a lot of roads that have high jacking problems so I spent five hours traveling by boat as the road was too dangerous.
“The most interesting part of my journey was the tribes. I lived with 10 different tribes throughout the three weeks I was there.
“I experienced their different ceremonies and way of life, I went to a wedding and went hunting with them.”
While he was with the spirit bird tribe, Pinto watched them perform a ritual to protect their sacred waterfall and another to celebrate birth.
He said: “I stayed with the crocodile people who have these amazing scars on their body when they go from a teenager to an adult.
“The scars make it look like they have crocodile skin.
“One tribe got fully naked, then covered themselves in clay and painted their face orange to celebrate births as a thank you to God.
Pinto said his favorite moment from the trip was when he went to a tribal wedding.
He said some parts of the ceremony were “uncomfortable” but, overall it was “interesting”.
Pinto said: “My favorite moment was the wedding. It wasn’t planned.
“We showed up and then said it was happening. It was a beautiful thing to be part of.
“Some things were hard to watch, like the sacrifice of the pigs.
“It was also so interesting to watch it happen – it is very different to Western culture.”
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all but essential travel to parts of Papua New Guinea.
Pinto is sharing his journey around the world at @dnzh.travels.
