Viti Levu

Viti Levu is the main island in the Fiji Islands and is home to three quarters of the archipelago’s population. Its rainy eastern coast stands in stark contrast to its dryer western coast with its extensive tourist facilities. The centre remains unspoilt.

Viti Levu, which covers more than 10 000 km², is the third largest island in the central Pacific, after New Caledonia and Hawaii. Its wooded, mountainous interior runs down to coastal fringes where its towns and activities are concentrated. The east is rainy and humid. The capital of the country, Suva, is on this windward coast. This town, nicknamed ‘Rain City’, is extremely lively and the houses that line its streets boast typical colonial architecture. If you follow the coastline southwards, you will quickly happen upon one of Fiji’s basic resources: sugar cane. There are organised tours of the plantations – the sugar cane extends for as far as the eye can see. The west is the leeward coast. It is drier and is home to Nadi, the island’s leading tourist destination. There are numerous international hotels along this coastline which boasts magnificent beaches, such as Nadi Bay and Wailoaloa Bay. The presence in this town of an important and very beautiful Hindu temple is evidence of the thriving long-standing Indian community in the Fiji Islands. Lautoka, just a few kilometres from Nadi, is the second largest town in the archipelago and has developed on the basis of sugar production. The interest of its distillery and port and its cosmopolitan character (Fijians, Buddhist Indians, Muslims, Sikhs ...) make it a worthwhile stop on your travels of the island. As an added bonus, there is the Garden of the Sleeping Giant, a magnificent flower garden designed in the 1970s by Raymond Burr, who loved the archipelago. The centre of the island is reserved for more adventurous outings. It is unspoilt, poorly served by roads, and home to indigenous tribes whose main form of transport remains the horse.