The Overland Journey
Photographs along the route
The Map indicates the route taken by most Hippy travellers from Istanbul to Delhi during the late 1960s into the 1970s, when politics ultimately made the journey impossible.
Kamala was created around my own experiences of travelling the Hippie Trail from England, through southern Europe and onwards to Istanbul, Iran, Afghanistan, West Pakistan (as it was then) and, eventually, India.
By clicking on the buttons below, you will be taken to a selection of postcards and photographs taken on the journey.
Despite the dangers, and there were potentially many, for the most part, one found only kindness and humanity amongst the disparate people who populated the route.
Extremes of heat and cold, wild dogs, thieves and beggars were all part of the experience, but the determination of most young travellers of the day to reach India, was the impetus to surmount most problems.
When we arrived...
We found a country of extremes.
Abundance and poverty, beyond your wldest imaginings.
Congested, overpopulated cities and some of the most remote and breathtaking countryside and coastlines in the world.
Then there were religion and materialism living side by side.
And when we left...
India was forever etched in our souls.
All extracts and artwork on this site Copyright © Nicholas Cooper. 2022