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Maheen S (Hitchhiking Nomad): The Kerala Traveller Who Has Hitchhiked to 96 Countries and Back From the Edge
Most travellers plan their routes carefully. They book flights, confirm hotel reservations, and check travel advisories before stepping foot anywhere remotely risky.
Maheen S does none of that.
Known across the internet as Hitchhiking Nomad, this young man from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala has spent the last several years doing something that most people would find unthinkable — hitching rides through conflict zones, sleeping over 1,000 nights on streets and train stations, entering countries without visas, getting blindfolded and beaten by the Taliban, surviving an Iraqi prison, and rafting through the Amazon only to nearly drown in it.
He is currently travelling from the United States to Argentina entirely by road — and he’s posting every step of it on Instagram and YouTube.
For many of his followers, Maheen’s vlogs have normalised places largely demonised by mainstream media coverage. And that, perhaps more than any single adventure, is his greatest achievement.
Maheen S (Hitchhiking Nomad) — Personal Profile Table
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Muhammad Maheen S |
| Popular Name | Hitchhiking Nomad |
| Age (approx.) | Mid-20s (started vlogging at ~18–19) |
| Place | Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), Kerala, India |
| Education | Studied at St. John’s Model Higher Secondary School, Nalanchira; Parul University; Graduate BBA (Hons) Travel & Tourism Management at IITTM Noida |
| Profession | Adventure Traveller, Travel Vlogger, Content Creator |
| Known For | Hitchhiking through conflict zones, solo extreme budget travel |
| Relationship Status | Single |
| Countries Visited | 96+ |
| YouTube | @hitchhikingnomaad |
| @hitchhiking.nomad | |
| hitchhiking.nomad | |
| Twitter / X | @hitchhikenomad |
| Wikipedia | No official page |
Early Life and Background: Born in Kerala, Called by the Road
Maheen S grew up in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala — a city of temples, beaches, and bureaucracy that couldn’t quite contain him.
Growing up in Thiruvananthapuram, Maheen didn’t plan a travel career. “I was sure I would travel a lot as it has been a passion since childhood,” he told The New Arab.
He got hooked on travelling after reading travelogues as a child. The books gave him maps in his mind — and eventually, he simply started walking into them.
He studied at St. John’s Model Higher Secondary School in Nalanchira before going on to pursue a BBA (Honours) in Travel and Tourism Management at IITTM Noida — a choice that reflected his direction even then. He also studied at Parul University. But formal education could only hold him for so long.
He has been travelling full-time for the past six years and intends to live this lifestyle until he is fifty or sixty.
What Is the Real Name of Hitchhiking Nomad?
This is one of the most searched questions about this creator — and the answer is straightforward.
The real name of Hitchhiking Nomad is Muhammad Maheen S. He is publicly known across all platforms simply as Maheen S, and his travel identity is Hitchhiking Nomad. His Instagram handle is @hitchhiking.nomad and his YouTube channel is @hitchhikingnomaad.
He has never hidden his identity and is relatively open about his background, location (Thiruvananthapuram), and personal circumstances on his social media and travel platforms like Couchsurfing.
There is currently no Wikipedia page for Maheen S or Hitchhiking Nomad — which is somewhat surprising for someone with nearly 900,000 YouTube subscribers and 727,000 Instagram followers.
Journey into Hitchhiking Travel: How It All Began
Maheen’s travel story started simply — with thumbs out on Indian roads.
He spent three years hitchhiking around India before expanding outward. India, with its diverse cultures, languages, and landscapes, was his training ground — teaching him how to trust strangers, navigate uncertainty, and survive on almost nothing.
From India, he crossed into Nepal, and then kept going. Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan. Tajikistan. Afghanistan. Iran. Iraq. Jordan. Saudi Arabia. Sudan. Ethiopia. Somalia. Kenya. Myanmar. And eventually, the Americas — from the United States down through Central and South America, crossing the infamous Darién Gap into Colombia.
His Couchsurfing profile alone reads like the most extreme gap-year diary ever written: blindfolded and beaten by the Taliban in Afghanistan, hitchhiking with opium and gun smugglers in Balochistan, five days in an Iraqi prison with 40 other prisoners, entering Somalia illegally from Somaliland, being beaten and robbed at gunpoint in Kenya, spending 10 days stuck in the middle of the Sudan war, accidentally hitching a ride with a human trafficking truck in Myanmar, and building a raft to travel through the Amazon — which he survived after a near-fatal accident.
Each of these experiences was documented. Each became a vlog.
His philosophy for new hitchhikers is practical: he advises future hitchhikers to start slowly in their own countries and later in neighbouring countries before expanding to different continents.
Travel Content and YouTube Career: A Channel Built on the Edge
Hitchhiking Nomad is a YouTube channel featuring Maheen, a young traveller from Kerala, India. The channel documents his experiences as he journeys around the world, relying primarily on hitchhiking as his mode of transportation. The videos offer viewers an intimate look at diverse cultures, interactions with locals, and the challenges and rewards of a nomadic lifestyle.
The channel started on April 11, 2017 — making it now nearly a decade old. From those early Indian highway videos, it has grown into one of the most distinctive adventure travel channels in India.
The channel currently has over 901,000 subscribers with 885 videos uploaded and a total view count of over 212 million.
According to Maheen, 95% of his YouTube followers and 65% of his Instagram followers come from Kerala. His content is primarily in Malayalam — which gives his audience a deeply personal, intimate connection to his journeys. When Maheen describes hitchhiking through the Saudi desert or talking to Taliban fighters, he’s speaking to Malayalis in their own language, from places they’ve never been.
His most celebrated series is his 18-part Afghanistan series, shot when most international journalists had left the country following the Taliban takeover.
Dressed in traditional attire and with the help of a few Afghan friends from college, he visited all the popular tourist spots and had a chance to observe civilian life one year after the Taliban takeover. Through the series, he took viewers to sites like the Band-E-Amir lake and the Bamyan valley, interacted with university students, experienced nightlife in Kabul, and immersed himself in Eid celebrations. He is seen interacting with the Taliban, holding their guns, and sharing their meals.
Social Media Presence: Nearly a Million Eyes on Every Move
Maheen S has built one of the most impressive social media footprints of any Indian adventure travel creator:
- Instagram (@hitchhiking.nomad): 727,000 followers, 982 posts — raw reels and photos from some of the world’s most dangerous and least-visited places
- YouTube (@hitchhikingnomaad): Over 901,000 subscribers and 212 million total views
- Facebook (hitchhiking.nomad): He has travelled to 96 countries so far, with his Facebook page describing itself simply as “everything began in Kerala, India”
- Twitter / X (@hitchhikenomad): Active, though his primary engagement is on Instagram and YouTube
For a detailed look at his Instagram analytics and influence profile, visit
His estimated monthly YouTube AdSense earnings range between $1000 and $5000 — a wide range that reflects the variability of viral content.
Personal Life: Family, Relationships, and Life Between Countries
Maheen keeps his personal life relatively private, though he has been transparent about his circumstances in various interviews and on his Couchsurfing profile.
He currently lives with his mother in Thiruvananthapuram. She speaks only Malayalam and communicates with guests using hand signs, a few English words, and Google Translate.
Maheen claims to be the only earning member of his family, and the revenue generated through his travel videos helps support them financially.
As for his relationship status — his public profile states that he is single. He has not publicly confirmed a girlfriend or wife, and any such claims circulating online are unverified. Given the nature of his lifestyle — six years of continuous travel, sleeping on streets, crossing war zones — a conventional relationship would be difficult to maintain. He has never addressed this topic in detail publicly.
Net Worth: Earning From the World’s Most Dangerous Destinations
Maheen S does not publicly disclose his net worth. However, based on available data:
- Monthly YouTube AdSense earnings are estimated between $1000 and $5000
- Additional income likely comes from Instagram brand deals, sponsorships, and merchandise
- His former business, Bluegelwash, is listed on his profile though travel content appears to be his primary income source
Conservatively, his annual earnings from content creation are estimated in the range of ₹60 lakh to ₹1.5 crore ($75,000–$180,000 USD) — though this is speculative. More meaningfully, “my travel is not at all expensive,” he has said, adding that he is not scared of the risks involved.
Interesting Facts About Maheen S (Hitchhiking Nomad)
- He has slept over 1,000 nights on streets, train stations, and open ground during his travels
- He trespassed into Chinese territory from Nepal and has entered multiple countries without a visa
- He bought a horse in Mongolia and used it to travel across the country
- He crossed the Darién Gap — one of the world’s most dangerous jungles — by boat with Venezuelan migrants
- He built a raft and attempted to travel through the Amazon region of Peru — and survived a raft accident in the water
- When his Afghanistan videos featuring the Taliban went viral, Kerala Police’s crime branch visited his home three times for questioning
- He claims his passport is “blacklisted,” though there is no official travel ban against him
- He wants to visit 100 countries within five years — and has already crossed 96
- He creates most of his content in Malayalam, making complex geopolitical regions accessible to a Keralite audience
- He has never travelled with a formal itinerary — “I never started with a proper itinerary and travelled,” he says
What Does “Hitchhiking Nomad” Mean in Malayalam?
For his Malayalam-speaking audience, this is a frequently asked question.
“Hitchhiking” in Malayalam can be loosely described as “അപരിചിതരുടെ വാഹനങ്ങളിൽ ലിഫ്റ്റ് ചോദിച്ച് യാത്ര ചെയ്യുക” — the act of standing on the roadside and requesting free rides from passing vehicles. It is not a common practice in Kerala’s culture, which makes Maheen’s content all the more fascinating to his home audience.
“Nomad” translates to “യാത്രക്കാരൻ” or “അലഞ്ഞുതിരിയുന്നവൻ” — one who wanders without a fixed home. Together, “Hitchhiking Nomad” paints an immediate picture in Malayalam: a wanderer who moves without money, without plans, and without limits.
Why Hitchhiking Nomad Is Famous
In a world of curated travel content shot with professional equipment from beautiful resort balconies, Maheen S is doing something radically different.
He was arrested and beaten by the Taliban in Afghanistan, faced minor aggression from morality police in Iran, had to travel with smugglers of arms and drugs in Balochistan, and faced unwanted advances from men across many countries. And he documented all of it.
His fame rests on a combination of fearlessness, authenticity, and cultural access. He goes to places that most Indians have only seen in news headlines — and he presents those places with the nuance and humanity that news rarely allows.
He told The New Arab: “I traveled to Sudan, Afghanistan, Iran, and a few more Arab nations in the Middle East. Every native I encountered welcomed me and treated me so well.”
That reframing — of dangerous places as deeply human places — is at the heart of why millions follow him.
Influence on the Travel Community
Maheen S has had a measurable impact on how young Indians think about hitchhiking and budget travel.
Before channels like his existed, the idea of an Indian travelling through Afghanistan or Iran with no budget and no fixed plan was almost unthinkable. The mainstream narrative around these destinations was defined by security warnings and geopolitical tension. Maheen walked into that narrative and filmed something completely different.
He has also inspired a new generation of Malayalam-speaking travel creators, showing that you don’t need polished production or luxury budgets to build a massive audience. You need honesty, courage, and a good story.
His advice to anyone wanting to start: start slowly in your own country and later in neighbouring countries before expanding to different continents. It is the kind of practical wisdom that only comes from having done it — all of it — the hard way.
Frequently Asked Questions About Maheen S (Hitchhiking Nomad)
What is the real name of Hitchhiking Nomad?
The real name of Hitchhiking Nomad is Muhammad Maheen S. He is publicly known as Maheen S and goes by the travel identity “Hitchhiking Nomad” across all platforms.
What is Maheen S’s age?
A 2023 report described Maheen as 23 years old, placing his birth year around 2000. As of 2026, he is approximately 25–26 years old.
Where is Hitchhiking Nomad from?
Maheen is from Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), the capital of the Indian state of Kerala.
Is Hitchhiking Nomad married?
No. His publicly available profile states he is single. He has not confirmed any marriage or long-term relationship.
Does Hitchhiking Nomad have a girlfriend?
Maheen has not publicly confirmed a girlfriend. Given his six years of continuous travel through remote and dangerous regions, he has not addressed his romantic life in detail publicly. Any claims otherwise are unverified.
What is Hitchhiking Nomad’s YouTube channel?
His YouTube channel is @hitchhikingnomaad. It has over 901,000 subscribers and 212 million total views, with 885 videos uploaded since April 2017.
What does “Hitchhiking Nomad” mean in Malayalam?
It roughly translates to “ലിഫ്റ്റ് അടിച്ച് യാത്ര ചെയ്യുന്ന നാടോടി“ — a wanderer who travels by stopping vehicles on the road and asking for free rides, with no fixed home or destination.
Who are Hitchhiking Nomad and Arunima?
Both Maheen S (Hitchhiking Nomad) and Arunima IP (Backpacker Arunima) are solo adventure travel creators from Kerala who have built large followings on YouTube and Instagram through their unconventional, extreme budget journeys across India and the world. They are often discussed together as two of the most prominent voices in Malayalam-language adventure travel content.
Conclusion: The Road Will Always Have Room for One More Thumb
Maheen S is not a travel influencer in the conventional sense. He is not selling you a hotel package or a flight deal. He is showing you the world as it actually is — messy, dangerous, beautiful, and overwhelmingly human.
He has travelled to 96 countries so far, exploring some of the most dangerous and least-visited places in the world— all from a starting point of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, with a backpack and an outstretched thumb.
His story is a reminder that extraordinary adventures don’t require extraordinary resources. They require curiosity strong enough to beat fear, and a willingness to trust the strangers on the other side of the car window.
The road is long. Maheen is still on it.
Follow his journey on Instagram @hitchhiking.nomad and YouTube @hitchhikingnomaad — and if you want to start your own hitchhiking adventure, start close to home. The rest will follow.
