[3] Levuka, Fiji's former capital, is the largest of 24 towns and villages on the island, and is the only urban area in Lomaiviti.

[4] Ovalau is characterized by its rugged topography,[2] with little flat land apart from the Lovoni Valley in the centre of the island.

Levuka Airfield, which handles twice-daily Air Fiji flights to and from Suva is located on the west of the island, next to the Bureta District School compound.

There is one bus service, which runs once daily from the west of Ovalau to Levuka in the morning, and returns at 5pm, and is mainly used by schoolchildren and PAFCO workers.

A fictionalized Ovalau appears in the 2013 tactical shooter video game Arma 3, specifically in the Arma 3: Apex downloadable content expansion pack, as the archipelago of "Tanoa", part of the island country of the "Horizon Islands Republic".