Lautoka is Fiji's second city, sitting on the western coast of Viti Levu in the shadow of the Koroyanitu mountain range. Known as the Sugar City, it grew up around the sugar mill that still dominates the waterfront — during crushing season the sweet smell of processed cane hangs over the town.
The city has a pleasant if unremarkable centre: a broad main street, a covered municipal market selling tropical produce, and a waterfront that looks out across the reef to the Mamanuca and Yasawa island groups. Most visitors pass through Lautoka on their way to the islands — the Yasawa Flyer catamaran departs from the port — but the town market is worth a morning and the drive south along the coast to Nadi passes through cane fields and Indo-Fijian villages. The Koroyanitu National Heritage Park in the mountains behind the city offers guided hiking through tropical forest to waterfalls and traditional hilltop villages. The sugar mill that gave Lautoka its name — the crushing season runs June–November — still operates with narrow-gauge cane trains that wind through the surrounding fields.