Far Out Countercultural Seekers and the Tourist Encounter in Nepal by Mark Liechty is a comprehensive read on Nepal’s tourism experiences in the postwar era, hippie counterculture in the 1960s, and adventure destination in the 1970s.
I picked up Far Out when I attended its book launch at Martin Chautari. Having read about 100 pages so far, I’ve learned about how Nepal opened its doors to tourism in early 1950s, influential characters that shaped the early tourism crowd and much more. It’s quite interesting to learn about Nepal’s tourism history and whose identity has now been shaped by tourism around the world. I especially enjoyed reading about Boris Lissanevitch and Jung Bahadur Coapsingha – two important and pioneering characters of Nepal’s early tourism years. I can’t wait to read more.