Nimbin Rocks
Rhyolite crags left behind by the old volcano, a few kilometres out of the village. The three best known are the Cathedral, the Needle and the Thimble. They are a sacred place for the Bundjalung people, so admire them from the road.
The town
Nimbin sits in a valley on Bundjalung Country, on the edge of the ancient Wollumbin (Tweed) volcano. It started out as a timber and dairy town. After the 1973 Aquarius Festival, many festival-goers stayed on, and the town became one of Australia's best-known alternative communities.
Today it's a small village with one main street. It attracts artists, growers, musicians, bushwalkers and day-trippers from up and down the coast.
- Region
- Northern Rivers
- Country
- Bundjalung
- Nearest city
- Lismore
- Famous for
- Aquarius '73
Places worth knowing
Nightcap National Park
World Heritage Gondwana rainforest on the town's doorstep. It has walking tracks, lookouts, Protestors Falls and Minyon Falls.
Cullen Street
The heart of the village: brightly painted shopfronts, murals, cafes, galleries and the community spaces that give Nimbin its character.
What's on
Each year
MayFirst weekend
Nimbin MardiGrass
The village's best-known festival, held every year since 1993: a weekend of parades, music, talks and street theatre calling for cannabis law reform.
SepFirst weekend
Performance Poetry World Cup
Two days of heats, semi-finals and a final, with poets travelling from across the country to perform for the Cup.
SepThird weekend
Nimbin Show
A country show running since 1919, with animals, produce, arts and crafts, and the first stop on the North Coast show circuit. Held at the showground on Cecil Street.
SepSpring holidays
Spring Arts Exhibition
An exhibition of work by Nimbin's artists, craftspeople, designers and photographers, held for over 20 years at the School of Arts on Cullen Street.
OctLate October
Nimbin Fringe Festival New
A community-run arts festival across the village, with music, comedy, dance, circus, film and visual art.
Every week or month
Sun4th & 5th
Nimbin Markets
A Sunday market at the Community Centre on Cullen Street with local makers, food and music, usually 9am to 3pm.
WedAfternoons
Farmers Market
Fresh produce straight from local growers, in the Green Bank car park on Cullen Street.
Dates are worked out from each event's usual pattern, so please check with the organisers before you travel. Know an event we've missed? Let us know.
A short history
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Time immemorial
Bundjalung Country. The Nimbin Rocks and the surrounding land hold deep cultural significance that long predates the town.
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1800s – 1900s
Timber getters work the cedar forests, followed by dairy farming that shapes the cleared hills you see today.
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1973
The Aquarius Festival brings thousands of students and free spirits to a quiet dairy town. Many never leave.
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1979
The Terania Creek protests nearby help spark the movement that protects the region's rainforests.
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1993
The first MardiGrass, held on 1 May, starts an annual tradition.
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Today
A village of creatives, growers and environmentalists, and a well-loved stop on any Northern Rivers trip.
Getting here
Nimbin is roughly a 30 minute drive north of Lismore. It's about an hour inland from Byron Bay, through winding hinterland roads. There's no train, so a car or a day tour is the easiest way in.