page_title: Taveuni
section_title: Settlements
hierarchical_section_title: Taveuni / Geography / Settlements
caption_attribution_description: English: Wairiki Mission, Taveuni Island, Fiji
context_page_description: Taveuni is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of 434 square kilometres. The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated 6.5 kilometres to the east of Vanua Levu, across the Somosomo Strait. It belongs to the Vanua Levu Group of islands and is part of Fiji's Cakaudrove Province within the Northern Division.
  The island had a population of around 19,000, some 75 per cent of them indigenous Fijians, at the 2015 census. Taveuni has abundant flora and is known as the 'Garden Island of Fiji'. It is a popular tourist destination. Tourists are attracted to the excellent diving opportunities, prolific bird life, bushwalks and waterfalls. Central parts of the island receive very high rainfall rates. Being volcanic in origin Taveuni's soils have supported the island's most historically significant industry, agriculture.
context_section_description: The population is concentrated mostly on the more sheltered western side of the island. Taveuni has eight major villages. Halfway down the west coast is the administrative centre of Waiyevo. The largest urban area, however, comprises the twin villages of Somosomo and Naqara.  As the traditional fiefdom of the Tui Cakau, one of Fiji's highest-ranked chiefs, Somosomo is regarded as the capital of the Tovata Confederacy, while Naqara, an Indo-Fijian settlement, is the island's commercial centre. The main hospital is located at Waiyevo while a number of nursing stations and health centres are located around the island. Other settlements include Bouma, Deleni, Gacaavulu, Kanacea, Korovou, Lavena, Matei, Naselesele, Navakawau, Salialevu, Soqulu, Vuna, Wairiki, and Welagi.
caption: Wairiki Mission, 2003
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