Levuka, Ovalau cruise port guide

About Levuka, Ovalau

Levuka is Fiji's first capital and its most historically intact colonial port town, occupying a narrow coastal strip on the eastern shore of volcanic Ovalau Island in Lomaiviti Province. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2013, it offers cruise visitors a walkable streetscape of Victorian wooden architecture along Beach Street, flanked by the Koro Sea on one side and 600-metre cliffs on the other. Queens Wharf — one of three official ports of entry to Fiji — provides access to a compact town rich in Pacific firsts, from the oldest hotel in the South Pacific to the region's first

The Levuka Community Centre, occupying a renovated 1878 Morris Hedstrom trading store adjacent to Queens Wharf, anchors the cultural experience with a Fiji Museum branch, crafts centre, and public library. Along Beach Street, the Royal Hotel — operating since at least the early 1860s and the oldest hotel still running in the South Pacific — stands alongside the 1898 Levuka Town Hall and the Sacred Heart Church, a Marist legacy dating to 1858. The Ovalau Club, one of the Pacific's oldest social institutions, is a requisite stop for a cold drink. For views, 199 steps climb to Mission Hill and its panorama of Lekaleka Reef and the outer Lomaiviti islands. The island's defining excursion is Epi's midland tour, a guided hike into the volcanic crater to visit the village of Lovoni. Snorkelling on the barrier reefs, scuba diving, seasonal whale watching, coastal village walks, and day trips to Caqalai and Leleuvia islands fill out a full port day.