hippie trail
Overland Asia journey
The hippie trail was the overland route traveled by young Westerners from Europe through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and into India or Nepal during the 1960s and 1970s.
Travelers sought spiritual enlightenment, drugs, and adventure on the cheap, often in VW vans or ramshackle buses: She spent six months on the hippie trail before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan closed it down.
The route became largely impassable after 1979.
Nepal's capital city
- IstanbulTurkish city, formerly Constantinople
- KabulAfghanistan's capital city
- GoaCoastal Indian state
- overlandVia land routes
Tehran · Peshawar · Varanasi · Bangkok · Delhi · Afghanistan · Nepal · India
Nonviolent resistance ideology
- free loveUnstructured romantic and sexual bonds
- psychedeliaDrug-inspired artistic movement
- communeShared-living community
- peace movementCampaign advocating nonviolent resolution
LSD · hashish · ashram · guru · spiritual seeking · Timothy Leary · dropping out · alternative lifestyle
Travel across solid ground
- budget travelLow-cost trip planning
- hitchhikingSoliciting free rides
- youth hostelInexpensive shared-room lodging
- rucksackBag carried on shoulders
shoestring · long-haul · gap year · traveler's check · guidebook · Lonely Planet · fellow travelers · crash pad
Decade after the fifties
- 1970sFourth decade, twentieth century
- golden agePeriod of peak prosperity
- Soviet invasionUSSR military action abroad
- Iranian Revolution1979 regime change establishing theocracy
nostalgia · bygone · closed borders · travel memoir · oral history · documentary · reunion
Kathmandu
Nepal's capital city
overland · Tehran · Peshawar · Varanasi · Bangkok · Delhi · Afghanistan · Nepal · India · Pakistan
flower power
Nonviolent resistance ideology
- free loveUnstructured romantic and sexual bonds
- psychedeliaDrug-inspired artistic movement
- communeShared-living community
peace movement · LSD · hashish · ashram · guru · spiritual seeking · Timothy Leary · dropping out · alternative lifestyle · consciousness expansion
overland journey
Travel across solid ground
- budget travelLow-cost trip planning
- hitchhikingSoliciting free rides
- youth hostelInexpensive shared-room lodging
rucksack · shoestring · long-haul · gap year · traveler's check · guidebook · Lonely Planet · fellow travelers · crash pad · flophouse
1960s
Decade after the fifties
- 1970sFourth decade, twentieth century
- golden agePeriod of peak prosperity
- Soviet invasionUSSR military action abroad
Iranian Revolution · nostalgia · bygone · closed borders · travel memoir · oral history · documentary · reunion
hippie trailpackage tour
Pre-organized trip bundle
luxury cruise · guided tour · all-inclusive resort · escorted tour · business travel
hippie trailcorporate retreat
Organized company outing
military deployment · diplomatic mission · business trip · Vegas trip · cruise tourism
hippie, trail, hip, hippies, trails, trailed, trailing, trailer, trailers