Tawali Skull Cave is a karst cave located near Bilubilu,

Alotau Alotau is the capital of Milne Bay Province, in the south-east of Papua New Guinea. It is located on the northern shore of Milne Bay. The town is located within Alotau Urban LLG. Alotau is also the annual forum for Australian and Papua New Guine ...

Milne Bay Province Milne Bay is a province of Papua New Guinea. Its capital is Alotau. The province covers 14,345 km² of land and 252,990 km² of sea, within the province there are more than 600 islands, about 160 of which are inhabited. The province has ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The cave receives its name from an ancient native practice: when revered or beloved people die, they would be buried upright with a clay pot placed over their head. When the head was able to be separated from the rest of the skeleton, the skull was taken and lain in the cave as a show of respect. Many such "skull caves" exist throughout the country. The cave is located near

East Cape East Cape is the easternmost point of the main islands of New Zealand. It is located at the northern end of the Gisborne District of New Zealand's North Island. It can also refer to the broader Gisborne cape. East Cape was originally named "C ...

, the country's easternmost mainland point. The entrance and descent is rickety and tough to negotiate, and the path leading to the cave is dense, so a guide is necessary to access the cave.http://www.indopacificimages.com/index.php/papua-new-guinea-2/papua-new-guinea-milne-bay-tawali-skull-caves/ IndoPacific Images

References

Caves of Papua New Guinea {{PNG-geo-stub