Fiji’s capital, Suva, isn’t renowned for walking and hiking but after spending six months living there I found a few ways to stretch my legs. In descending order of recommendation, here are the half a dozen options available, which range from flat urban waterfront walking to a steep rainforest summit hike. I’d also recommend the Fiji Rucksack Club, active since 1963, as a great way to do some of these walks with others. Particularly during the dry season, they tend to run a walk a month.

Suva Seawall

The easiest and most accessible option, which runs around much of the peninsula on which the city sits. From the central city on the west side around to Nasese on the east side, it is about 6km of almost continuous waterfront walking.

It is flat, paved and popular with walkers and runners, particularly early in the morning and around sunset. I walked it almost every day while living in Suva.

There is plenty of variety despite being an urban walk. Around the city centre are Ratu Sukuna Park, the Grand Pacific Hotel, Albert Park and Thurston Gardens, while further east the walkway passes Government House before eventually reaching My Suva Park and Laucala Bay.

The harbour also changes considerably with the tide. At high tide I often saw fish close to the seawall, while at low tide hundreds of crabs appeared across the exposed mudflats, along with plenty of birdlife.

My Suva Park was my favourite part, with well maintained gardens, shade and plenty of people exercising or relaxing.

To return to the start either catch a bus (which run one way in an anti-clockwise direction), walk back the way you came, or do as I used to do and head inland toward Flagstaff for a decent hill workout that turns it into a loop.

Colo-i-Suva Forest Park

For more of a hike and great swimming holes, Colo-i-Suva Forest Park is about 20 minutes north of central Suva.

The protected forest contains around 6.5km of tracks, waterfalls and a series of natural swimming pools. Allow a couple of hours for the main loop but you could easily spend half a day here exploring all the tracks and swimming holes. It is best to start at the top and finish at the lowest pools to avoid hiking after swimming, and I think the lower pools are the clearest and most appealing.

The tracks range from formed paths and boardwalks to rougher bush trails. Unsurprisingly for one of the wettest parts of Fiji, it can become extremely slippery.

There is also an important safety caveat. I never personally had any problems, and security was present at the entrance and main car park when I visited, but robberies and assaults have occurred in the park. I would go in the morning, preferably with other people, carry as little of value as possible, and pay attention to your belongings while in the pools.

Exploring Suva CBD

There isn’t a defined city walking route, but central Suva is compact enough to explore easily on foot and is reasonably interesting.

I would start around Ratu Sukuna Park and the waterfront before heading through the busy central streets toward Suva Municipal Market. The contrast between central Suva on different days is quite striking: it is heaving with people six days a week but almost deserted on Sundays, when many businesses are closed.

Cumming Street is particularly good for older commercial buildings, while nearby Suva City Carnegie Library opened in 1909. Suva Municipal Market is also worth allowing time for and was one of the better markets I visited in the Pacific.

There are several notable churches within easy walking distance, including Sacred Heart Cathedral, St Andrews Presbyterian Church, Holy Trinity Cathedral and Centenary Methodist Church.

From the CBD I would continue toward Albert Park, the Grand Pacific Hotel and Thurston Gardens. The latter is home to huge trees, plenty of fruit bats and the Fiji Museum, the best place in the city to learn about Fijian history and culture, next to a decent cafe.

Edinburgh Drive

Another easy option is to walk from Suva Port up Edinburgh Drive toward Samabula. It is probably the most scenic road in Suva, climbing steadily above Walu Bay with excellent views back across the harbour and city.

Despite being a busy main road, there is a good footpath and the surroundings become surprisingly lush and tropical as you gain height. The walk is entirely paved and straightforward, with the steady uphill providing a little more exercise than the flat seawall without becoming a proper hike.

I particularly enjoyed the changing views over Walu Bay, the port and central Suva below. You can continue all the way to the junction with Princes Road and Waimanu Road in Samabula, then catch a bus back into the city or incorporate it into a longer urban walk.

Mount Korobaba

Mt Korobaba is also about 20 minutes from the city centre but quite a different experience, being a steep and incredibly slippery climb to a summit. It starts from the Pacific Cement factory in Lami, and unlike Colo-i-Suva Forest Park there are no maps or signage.

I did the hike three times, recording it as 7.2km return with around 450m of ascent and descent. It took me between two and two and a half hours (excluding a break at the summit) but I am quick and used hiking poles which make a huge difference. For most people I’d allow at least three hours, if not significantly longer if you’re not used to steep, super slippery hikes in high humidity! Take plenty of water and start early in the day.

Finding the start is probably the most confusing part. The route heads through the Pacific Cement site before the actual track begins behind the industrial area. Once on the right path it quickly enters rainforest and remains there almost all the way to the summit.

The red clay is slippery even in the dry season and becomes exceptionally slippery after rain. There is a steady climb for much of the way, followed by a stream crossing and a final much steeper section where tree roots are essential for pulling yourself upward. The descent requires more care than the climb.

My first attempt was in persistent rain and there were no views whatsoever from the summit. On subsequent trips I had clear weather and spectacular views from the summit over Suva, Lami, the coastline and the mountainous interior of Viti Levu.

FEA Tower Road

The least conventional option is FEA Tower Road, in the hills beyond Colo-i-Suva. This is more of a long uphill road walk than a hiking track. The access road starts beyond Colo-i-Suva Forest Park, passes through a village and then climbs increasingly steeply through lush forest toward communication towers on one of the higher points above Suva.

The Fiji Rucksack Club occasionally organises walks up the hill but unfortunately not while I was in Suva, and I didn’t feel comfortable walking it solo. Instead one day I drove up it and was surprised by how good the unsealed road was, clearly maintained for access to the towers.

Toward the top the road became too steep for my car so I walked the final section. At the top are a number of communication towers and basically no views (unless you have a drone) thanks to the dense vegetation. There were a couple of points along the road itself with some views.

The road is apparently well known among birders. Specialist birding tours regularly visit FEA Tower Road, with species recorded there including Golden Dove, Masked Shining-Parrot and Barking Imperial-Pigeon. I’m not sure it’d be a particularly enjoyable walk overall, but options in Suva are limited…