Sunday, July 5, 2020

THE HIPPIE TRAIL OF 20TH CENTURY


HIPPIES” is the popular term used for low-budget tourists and backpackers who preferred to travel on land from one place to another place. The Hippie trail (also the overland) is the journey taken by hippies during the 20th century (especially in 1960s and 1970s) that typically involving cheap travel. Hippies use local transportation; eat local food and talk about cultural imperialism. They usually avoid visiting most of the tourist destinations which they cannot afford to visit.

The origin of hippie trails probably lies with the overland expeditions of the mid-1950, when small groups of some wealthy people or the sponsored students would travel east from England by Land Rover or Bedford Dormobile (a 1950s popular camping vehicle known as motor caravan or motor home) for mountain climbing and to carry out scientific studies and surveys.

During 1960s and 1970s, hippies used to travel from Europe on the land route, entering Asia at Istanbul (Constantinople) and passing through Turkey, Iran and Pakistan to reach India.  The total distance from Istanbul to India was about 7000-8000 kilometers and it took 11 or 12 days of non-stop travel.


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