Lautoka

Introducing Lautoka

Fiji's second-largest city creeps up on you like a delicious noontime nap. Wide streets steeped in foliage create a permanently relaxed ambience and the backdrop of the Koroyanitu (Mt Evans) Range acts as a reminder that the urban reaches are well and truly finite. At the waterfront, a picturesque esplanade stems the low-rise construction, and yachts and cruise ships hang languidly and unobtrusively offshore. Lautoka's downtown grid teems with the ambling saris of a strong Indo-Fijian presence, and the shops, services and large market here provide a pleasant commercial alternative to Nadi.

The Lautoka Sugar Mill has been operating here since 1903 and the local economy still relies heavily on the diminishing sugar industry. In the latter half of the year little sugar trains putt along the main street, which is lined with royal palms. There is also the smell of woodchips in the air.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009