Nimbin is top 'hippie' town

A scene from this year’s Nimbin Mardi Grass drug reform rally.

DAVID NIELSEN

IT’S OFFICIAL: Nimbin is one of the world’s top 10 hippie travel destinations.

That is according to the Toptenz website which compiles lists of the best things and places on the planet.

The inclusion of the village, visited by 140,000 tourists every year, came as no surprise to Nimbin Visitor Information Centre co-ordinator Andrew Walker.

“The alternative lifestyle is a major draw,” he said.

The rest of the world was just waking up to what Nimbin has been practising since the 1970s, he said.

Many of the village’s visitors came to Nimbin because it was the home of the 1973 Aquarius Festival.

The painted-up main street, the Rainbow Power Company, the Nimbin Candle Factory, two World Heritage national parks and the permaculture education centre at Djanbung Gardens, were some of the big attractions of the village and its surrounding area.

Nimbin, described by Toptenz as the home of Australia’s counter-culture revolution, was ranked the eighth best destination.

According to the list, released on Monday, Kathmandu in Nepal, was the number one destination, followed by Vancouver, Canada; Chefchaouen, Morocco; Panajachel, Guatemala; Goa, India; Arembepe, Brazil; Christiania, Denmark; Nimbin; El Bolson, Argentina; and Ibiza in Spain.

Mr Walker said a 2008 Australian Regional Tourism Research study found the friendliness of Nimbin locals was ranked highly by visitors, of which 16 per cent came from overseas.

The town’s atmosphere and the national parks also ranked highly.