A brief history of backpacking

The first backpack …
Was discovered in 1991 in the Ötztal Alps alongside a mummified man whom scientists dubbed Ötzi the Iceman. The man and the remains of the backpack, which would have consisted of a cloth or animal skin bag on a wooden frame, date back to between 3400 and 3100BC.

The first round-the-world trip
An expedition set out in 1519 led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, who was aiming to discover a western spice route. Unfortunately, he died in the Philippines in 1521, and Juan Sebastián Elcano took over. After three years, the voyage proved the world was not only round but also a lot larger than previously thought. Of the 240-man expedition, Elcano and 17 crew were the only ones to make it all the way around, returning to Spain in 1522.

The birth of backpacking as we know it
In the 1950s and 60s, young people seeking spirituality, freedom and cheap marijuana began travelling overland from Europe through Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan to India and Nepal, and sometimes Thailand. They packed light and kept costs low by hitchhiking and taking buses. This “hippy trail” came to an end in 1979, when the Iranian revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan closed the route. But Asia is still the most popular place for first-timers.

The first backpacker guidebook

In 1972, Maureen and Tony Wheeler travelled overland from London to Australia. After arriving in Melbourne, Tony wrote Across Asia on the Cheap, the first Lonely Planet guidebook. It listed, in some detail, the quality of dope on offer along the route and gave advice on the best places for travellers to donate blood for money (Kuwait) if running low on funds.

Backpacking in numbers

32: Average backpacker age in 2016, according to Holidaysafe – up from 25 in 2014.

179: Average length of trip in days in 2016 (down from 217 in 2014), according to Holidaysafe.

4: The most common number of beds in a dorm, according to Hostelgeeks.com. It is upwards of 30 in some hostels … cosy.

12p The cheapest glass of beer in the world – much loved by backpackers – is Vietnam’s bia hoi, or “fresh beer”, drunk at street-corner joints.

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