Suva is the capital and largest city of Fiji (population 93,000 city, 330,000 greater Suva), situated on the southeast coast of Viti Levu — the largest island in the Fijian archipelago of 330 islands and 500 islets spread across 1.3 million km² of the South Pacific Ocean. Suva was established as the capital of the Crown Colony of Fiji in 1882, replacing Levuka (on the island of Ovalau) which had been the capital since the British annexation of Fiji in 1874 but was physically constrained by its small bay and could not expand; Suva on Viti Levu offered the deep harbour and expansive land area required for a colonial capital. The Fijian state reflects two centuries of complex history: the pre-colonial chiefly confederacy system (the Fijian paramountcy established by Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau who unified the Fijian island groups and ceded sovereignty to Queen Victoria in 1874 in exchange for British protection from the growing power of Tonga); the colonial indentured labour system (the British imported approximately 60,000 Indian indentured labourers between 1879-1916 to work the sugar plantations after Fijian custom law prevented the British from using indigenous land or labour for commercial agriculture — the legacy is a country with almost equal numbers of indigenous Fijians (iTaukei) and Indo-Fijians, divided by religion (Christian versus Hindu and Muslim), land rights and political representation in a tension that produced two coups (1987) and two more (2000, 2006)); and the remarkable natural environment: the 330 islands of the Fiji archipelago range from the rugged interior of Viti Levu (the central highlands reaching 1,323 m at Mount Tomanivi) to the coral reef systems of the Mamanuca and Yasawa island chains on the western side of Viti Levu, which constitute some of the finest snorkelling and diving environments in the South Pacific. The Fijian greeting (Bula! — said with enthusiastic eye contact and a smile — is the most recognisable cultural greeting in the Pacific and is applied universally).
Fiji Museum (in Thurston Gardens — the most significant collection of Fijian and Pacific material culture in the region; founded 1904; the collections: the cannibal forks (the sacred implements used in the 19th-century Fijian ritual cannibalism — the warriors ate their enemies to absorb their spiritual power (mana); the Fijian practice of ritual cannibalism (documented by European missionaries and beachcombers from the 1830s) was among the most well-documented in the Pacific; the display of the wooden cannibal forks (ai cula ni bokola) alongside the oral history context of the practice as a spiritual act rather than a dietary one); the war clubs (the Fijian war club (i wau) in multiple regional styles — the Polynesian-influenced western Fiji clubs versus the Melanesian-influenced eastern Fiji designs); the drua (the double-hulled ocean-going sailing canoe — the finest pre-European sailing vessel in the Pacific (the drua could sail faster than most European square-rigged ships of the same period)); the tabua (the sperm whale tooth — the most important ceremonial object in Fijian culture).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideSuva Municipal Market (the main covered market in the city centre — the largest fresh produce market in the Pacific island nations; the market building (1956 reinforced concrete — the characteristic post-war British colonial market architecture); the produce: the Fijian root vegetables (dalo (taro) — the staple starch of Fijian cuisine; the dalo leaves (rourou) used in the traditional palusami (taro leaves with coconut cream baked in lolo); cassava (tavioka); yam; breadfruit (uto)); the tropical fruits (the Fijian pawpaw (papaya) — the sweetest in the Pacific; the pineapple (Fiji is one of the largest pineapple producers in the Pacific); the kavika (the Fijian rose apple)); the kava stalls (the dried powdered kava root (yaqona) sold in bags of varying strength — the kava market is the social infrastructure of Suva's informal sector); the Indian spice and condiment section (the Indo-Fijian community's contribution to the market: the coriander, the chillies, the fresh turmeric and the curry leaves).
Suva Harbour Walk (the waterfront promenade from the ferry terminal to Albert Park — the colonial-era waterfront infrastructure; the Suva Ferry Terminal (the hub of the inter-island transport network — the ferries to Ovalau (the old capital), to the Lau Group islands and to other Fijian island groups depart from here); Albert Park (the historic colonial-era sports ground in the city centre — the park where Charles Lindbergh landed the Spirit of St. Louis on his Pacific tour in 1928; the Suva rugby tradition (Fiji is the most passionate rugby union nation in the Pacific — the Fiji national team (the Flying Fijians) competes at international level; Albert Park was the main oval for colonial-era cricket and rugby matches); the Government Buildings (the 1939 British colonial administration complex — the Parliament of Fiji sits in this building; the architecture is the characteristic British colonial style with the colonnaded verandahs and the white-painted render); the Sacred Heart Cathedral (the 1900 Catholic cathedral with the Gothic Revival spire — the tallest building in central Suva).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideTraditional Fijian kava ceremony (yaqona ceremony — the central social and ceremonial ritual of Fijian culture; the powdered kava root (Piper methysticum — the mildly psychoactive root crop of the Pacific; the active compounds are kavalactones which produce a sedative, anxiolytic and mild euphoric effect without alcohol or impairment of cognitive function; the taste is earthy, slightly bitter and numbs the mouth and lips within minutes); the protocol: the guest claps once (cupped hands — vakatakilakila), drinks the bilo (the half coconut shell bowl) in a single drink, claps three times (gently) and says "Bula!"; the Fijian dinner (lovo feast — the Fijian earth oven (lovo): the meat, the fish, the dalo and the palusami (taro leaves with coconut cream and onion) wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in a pit lined with hot stones for 2-3 hours — the oldest and most authentic Fijian cooking method).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideBeqa Lagoon shark dive (2.5h south of Suva by road — the most renowned shark diving location in the Pacific; the Beqa Lagoon shark feeding programme: the dive masters lay out fish heads on the sandy bottom in 30 m of water; up to 8 species of shark aggregate at the feed site including the bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas — the most dangerous shark in the world by recorded attacks on humans; the largest bull shark individuals in the Beqa feeding programme are 3+ metres and estimated 300 kg; the divers kneel on the bottom and the sharks approach within 1-2 metres), the tiger shark (the second-most dangerous species; the Beqa individuals are 3-4 m), the lemon shark, the whitetip reef shark and the nurse shark; the Beqa conservation programme (the Fiji Shark Conservation Programme — the reef sharks are protected and their economic value as dive attraction quantified to argue against commercial shark finning)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePacific Harbour (90 km west of Suva on the Queens Road — the purpose-built resort and activity hub on the south coast of Viti Levu; the Arts Village (the craft market and cultural performance centre built in the style of a traditional Fijian village — the meke (the traditional Fijian dance and storytelling performance (meke performers; the spear dance (cibi) performed by men in traditional dress; the fan dance (seasea) performed by women; the soundtrack of the lali (the wooden slit-drum) and the davui (the conch shell horn); the craft market: the Fijian tapa cloth (masi — the bark cloth decorated with geometric designs in black ink, made from the paper mulberry tree (Broussonetia papyrifera); the woven pandanus mat (ibe) — the Fijian floor covering and sleeping mat, still woven by hand in rural villages; the carved wooden tanoa (the kava bowl); the shell jewellery.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideKula Eco Park (at Korotogo, 2h west of Suva near Sigatoka — the only wildlife conservation centre in Fiji; the native Fijian wildlife not visible elsewhere: the Fiji crested iguana (Brachylophus vitiensis — the critically endangered iguana endemic to Fiji's dry forest islands, classified as one of the most endangered lizards in the world; 3 populations remain on Yadua Taba and two other islands; the Kula breeding programme is the primary captive conservation effort); the Fiji banded iguana (Brachylophus fasciatus — the bright green iguana with white bands endemic to eastern Fiji; the national animal of Fiji, depicted on the Fijian currency); the Fiji parrot (kaka) and the orange dove (soqosoqo ni Veikau — the stunning bright orange male and lime-green female dove endemic to Fiji, one of the most vividly coloured birds in the Pacific); the Hawksbill sea turtle rehabilitation facility.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Coral Coast (the 50 km stretch of south Viti Levu coast between Sigatoka and Pacific Harbour — the main resort strip on the south side of the island; the Coral Coast is so named for the fringing reef (between 100-300 m offshore) that creates the flat water lagoon between the reef and the beach — the snorkelling on the inner reef is accessible from the shore and requires no boat; the sunset over the Coral Coast (the southwestern facing coast sees the sun set over the Mamanuca Islands on the western horizon in the late afternoon and the colour reflected in the flat lagoon water is the signature visual of the Fijian coast); the resort dinner (the Queens Road resort restaurants serve the Fijian mix of Indo-Fijian curried fish (fresh tuna or mahi-mahi with turmeric and coconut milk) alongside the iTaukei Fijian lovo-style dishes and the standard international menu).
Mamanuca Islands day trip (1.5-2h by fast catamaran from Port Denarau, 30 min from Nadi — the island group that appears in every Fiji tourism image: the small, low-lying coral islands ringed with white sand beaches and coconut palms; Castaway Island (Qalito — the filming location of the Tom Hanks film "Cast Away" (2000) — the island's name preceded the film); Monuriki Island (the uninhabited island where most of "Cast Away" was actually filmed — the steep volcanic island profile and the complete absence of infrastructure was the "desert island" of the film); Mana Island (the largest inhabited resort island in the Mamanuca group — the Blue Lagoon Beach (the finest beach in the Mamanuca group; the inner reef snorkelling with the parrotfish, the butterflyfish and the turtle sightings); the South Sea Island (the smallest island with the most exposed reef — the snorkelling on the southern reef edge is the finest in the Mamanuca group with 100+ fish species visible in calm conditions).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideYasawa Island chain (the remote volcanic island chain 60-150 km northwest of Viti Levu — 20 islands extending 80 km from north to south; accessible by the Yasawa Flyer (the daily high-speed catamaran from Port Denarau that takes up to 4.5h to reach the northern islands) or by seaplane (30-45 min); the Yasawa Islands were closed to tourism until 1987; the Blue Lagoon (the protected bay between the northern Yasawa Islands — the filming location of the 1980 film "The Blue Lagoon" (Brooke Shields); the water colour in the protected bay (the shallow sandy bottom reflects the sunlight and creates the electric-blue colour that the film is named for); the cave swimming (the Nacula Tikina limestone cave system — the caves accessible by local canoe from the small villages on Nacula and Naviti islands, with the blue light filtering through the cave ceiling apertures).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideSuva Harbour sunset cruise (the Fijian sailing tradition — the drua (the traditional double-hulled Fijian ocean-going canoe) was the finest sailing vessel in the pre-European Pacific, capable of 20+ knots in the trade wind; the modern sunset cruise on Suva Harbour uses the catamaran or the larger motor vessels that circle the peninsula; the harbour view: the Suva skyline (the Sacred Heart Cathedral spire, the Government Buildings and the hills of the peninsula from the water); the sunset over the Coral Sea (the western aspect of the harbour allows the full colour of the Pacific sunset — the cloud formations over the Viti Levu mountains produce the most elaborate cloud-horizon colour events of any Pacific capital); the fresh fish appetisers (the yellowfin tuna (the Fiji tuna fishery in the Pacific tuna corridor between the international date line and Fiji's EEZ — the freshest sashimi in the Pacific)).
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideSuva Indo-Fijian dinner (the restaurant district of the Victoria Parade and Cumming Street area — the cuisine that emerged from the indenture system: the 60,000 Indian labourers (girmityas — from "agreement", the name for the indenture contract) brought to Fiji between 1879-1916 from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and South India (Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh) created a distinct Indo-Fijian cuisine that is simultaneously Indian and Pacific; the fresh fish curry (the yellowfin tuna or mahimahi curried in the Bihari-Fijian style with mustard oil, turmeric and fresh coriander — the Indo-Fijian fish curry is distinct from any South Asian equivalent because of the Pacific fish species used); the roti (the Indo-Fijian roti is hand-rolled and cooked on the tawa griddle — thinner than Indian roti but thicker than the Sri Lankan coconut roti); the chilli sauce (Fijian chilli (Capsicum chinense) is among the hottest in the Pacific).