Backpacking became very popular in the 1960 especially in europe and the united states. It is an inexpensive way to travel. It is usually associated with adventure and a search for new experiences. You find backpackers everywhere you travel: from the tea-growing slopes in sri lanka to the steep cliffs of machu picchu in peru. Backpackers have one thing in common-they all look exhausted.
It's not surprising they are tired because backpacks can be huge! The backpacks of the 1960s were actually about the size of one's back. They had a large metal frame outside. Nowadays,people choose more comfortable backpacks, with a size that varies to meet their needs.
The original idea behind backpacking was to travel light and to pack as little as possible: a change of clothes, a map, some food and medicine, a roll mattress, and maybe a swiss knife. Nowaday, people ask, "how much can i carry with me?