Hippie trail

[1] The hippie trail largely ended in the late 1970s primarily due to both the Iranian Revolution resulting in an anti-Western government, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, closing the route to Western travelers.

The usual northern route passed through Tehran, Herat, Kandahar, Kabul, Peshawar and Lahore on to India, Nepal and Southeast Asia.

All travellers had to cross through Afghanistan and the Khyber Pass, traversing Peshawar and Lahore in Pakistan[3] and over the Pakistan-India border at Ganda Singh Wala (or later at Wagah).

However, one could fly from Kathmandu to Bangkok to continue the journey in Southeast Asia to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia (where Bali was a popular destination for hippies).

Ideas and experiences were exchanged in well-known hostels, hotels, and other gathering spots along the way, such as Yener's Café and The Pudding Shop in Istanbul, Sigi's on Chicken Street in Kabul or the Amir Kabir in Tehran.

In 1979, both the Iranian Revolution[4] and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan closed the overland route to South Asia for Western travellers, and Chitral and Kashmir became less inviting due to tensions and territorial conflicts in the area.

[13] In the Middle Eastern route, the Yom Kippur War in 1973 also put in place strict visa restrictions for Western citizens in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.

Due to the constant pressure from USA, in 1976 Nepal enacted Narcotic Drugs (Control) Act prohibiting the trade, farming or any kind of cannabis activities in the country.

In September 2007, Ozbus embarked upon a short-lived service between London and Sydney over the route of the hippie trail,[17] and commercial trips were offered in 2010 between Europe and Asia, bypassing Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, by going through Nepal and China to the old Silk Road.

[18] The BIT Guide, recounting collective experiences and reproduced at a fairly low cost, produced the early duplicated stapled-together "foolscap bundle" with a pink cover providing information for travellers and updated by those on the road, warning of pitfalls and places to see and stay.