Carstensz Pyramid is on the island of Papua and one of the 7 Summits. Carstensz lies in the province of West Papua (formerly Irian Jaya), a remote corner of Indonesia. This is the highest peak in the Australasian continent and often the most difficult to gain access to of the seven summits. The climb itself involves fifth class rock climbing on a beautiful limestone summit ridge to gain the 16,023 foot/4,884 meter summit. Carstensz Pyramid is the highest peak in the Surinam mountain range that transects the island and sits next to the glaciated Ngapulu Jaya. The views looking over the jungle and beyond to the blue Pacific Ocean from the summit of this mysterious mountain are a rare and very special experience.

Based on our years of experience dealing with logistics in Papua we prefer to offer helicopter accessed trips to Carstensz Pyramid as our primary option. Helicopter access can be challenging, but there are fewer variables out of our control than with the overland access routes. Trekking doesn’t really do justice to the approach to Carstensz through the jungles and steep terrain of the Island of Papua. The many difficulties with trekking access including the tremendous challenge of staying healthy on a long jungle trek, very difficult terrain including hazardous river crossings, multiple levels of local politics in an unstable part of the world, porter strikes, and others. Any Carstensz expedition is a journey into the unpredictable, but we have the experience to mitigate many of the factors that can otherwise stop teams in their tracks… or even before they meet in Indonesia. We feel that the helicopter access, while more expensive than trekking overland, is a smart investment to help mange the risk and protect our climbers’ investments in time and money.

If you are interested in visiting some native villages and seeing some of the amazing “Stone Age” culture that remains on this island we recommend a visit to the town of Wamena in the Papuan highlands. We would be happy to help you make arrangements for this amazing cultural tour after the climb.