Known to the area's Indigenous people as Moo-Nut-Re-Ker and labelled 'Circular Head' by explorer Matthew Flinders, this striking 143m-high, 12-million-year-old core of an extinct volcano can be seen for many kilometres around Stanley. To get to the summit it's a steep 20-minute climb or a ride on the chairlift. The best lookout is a short walk to the south of the chairlift. At the top is a 2km circuit walk (about one hour) around the summit plateau.

In summer, watch for short-tailed shearwaters (muttonbirds) returning to their burrows at dusk after a day’s foraging at sea.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Tasmania attractions

1. Lookout

0.14 MILES

Good vantage point from atop the Nut over Stanley and beyond, located a short walk south of the chairlift.

2. Chairlift

0.22 MILES

This chairlift travels up to the top of the Nut, with lookouts and a 2km circuit walk atop this 143m-high extinct volcano.

4. Stanley Discovery Museum

0.39 MILES

Housed in a small hall next to the 1880s St Paul's Anglican Church, Stanley's local history museum has a collection of historic photographs as well as…

6. Godfreys Beach

0.59 MILES

There is a large colony of little (or fairy) penguins at Godfreys Beach, near the cemetery at the base of the Nut.

7. Highfield Historic Site

1.16 MILES

Built in 1835 for the chief agent of the Van Diemen’s Land Company, this homestead, poised 2km north of town, is an exceptional example of domestic…

8. Rocky Cape National Park

12.93 MILES

Tasmania’s smallest national park, pinmatik/Rocky Cape, stretches 12km along Bass Strait’s shoreline. It has great significance to the local Indigenous…

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