Levuka and Ovalau

Levuka is on the east coast of Ovalau, a volcanic island in the province of Lomaiviti, about 20 km from the coast of Viti Levu. It was Fiji’s first European trading port from the 1830s and the country’s first capital, until the government moved to Suva in 1882. In 2013 the town was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as an example of a 19th-century colonial port town in the Pacific.

The town is a narrow strip between the sea and volcanic hills covered in forest. Beach Street, the waterfront road, preserves 19th-century timber and masonry facades with verandas and old signs, and the side streets climb the slope by stairways to houses and churches.

Main sites are visited on foot: the Sacred Heart church of the Marist missionaries, whose tower serves as a beacon; the Nasova site, where the 1874 cession of Fiji to Great Britain was signed; and the stairways and viewpoints over the harbour. Inland, the village of Lovoni sits in the crater of an old volcano.

Levuka receives few visitors and keeps a relaxed pace, with a tuna factory at the port and the daily life of Fijian, Indo-Fijian and European-descended families. It’s a trip for those who enjoy history and places off the beach circuit.

This destination brings together 1 city: Levuka.