On 16 September 2026 at Karzok in Ladakh, DG NCC Lieutenant General Virendra Vats and Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Smt Dipti Mohil Chawla flagged in a team of 20 NCC girl cadets. They had walked roughly 250 kilometres in 30 days, from Kibber in Himachal Pradesh, across the Parang La at about 5,578 metres, to the shore of a lake in the Ladakhi cold desert.
The expedition — 'Aparajita – Parang La 2026', the NCC's flagship All India Girls High Altitude Long Trek — was flagged off by the Raksha Mantri, Shri Rajnath Singh, in New Delhi on 18 August 2026.
The route, and why it exists at all
Parang La is not a recreational invention. It is an old trade route connecting the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh with the Changthang region of Ladakh, used for centuries by traders and by the pastoralists who move livestock between the two. Salt, wool and grain crossed it long before anyone trekked it for pleasure.
The trail follows the Pare Chu, a river with an unusual biography: it rises in India, flows into Tibet, and re-enters India to join the Spiti river. Rivers that cross and re-cross a boundary are a recurring theme in Himalayan geography and a favourite of examiners.
The terrain the release describes — glaciers, snowfields and river valleys — changes character at the pass. South of it lies Spiti, a high, arid valley of the Himachal trans-Himalaya. North of it open the Rupshu plains of the Changthang, the western extension of the Tibetan Plateau into India: a cold desert of rolling high plains, brackish lakes and very little vegetation, grazed by the Changpa pastoralists whose Changthangi goats produce pashmina. It is also the habitat of the kiang, the Tibetan wild ass, and of the black-necked crane.
The finishing point is worth knowing on its own. Karzok stands on the shore of Tso Moriri, a high-altitude lake at around 4,500 metres, designated a Ramsar site and lying within the Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary. Its neighbour Pangong Tso is the better-known lake; Tso Kar is the third of the set. All three are brackish, because they are endorheic — basins with no outlet to the sea, where water leaves only by evaporation and salts accumulate.
What altitude does to a body
The NCC describes this as a high-altitude long trek, and the physiology behind that phrase is standard NDA science.
Atmospheric pressure falls with height. The proportion of oxygen in air stays essentially constant at about 21 per cent, but the partial pressure of oxygen falls with the total pressure — so each breath delivers fewer oxygen molecules to the blood. At about 5,500 metres, atmospheric pressure is roughly half that at sea level. This is the single most misunderstood point in the topic: the air is not "thinner in oxygen", it is thinner in everything, and the physiological effect follows from pressure, not composition.
The body's response is acclimatisation, and it proceeds in stages. Breathing rate and depth increase immediately. Heart rate rises. Over days, the kidneys excrete bicarbonate to compensate for the alkalosis caused by rapid breathing, and the body produces more erythropoietin, stimulating the bone marrow to make additional red blood cells and raising the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. That last adaptation takes weeks, which is precisely why a 30-day expedition is structured as a slow ascent rather than a dash.
The failure modes are worth naming: acute mountain sickness (AMS), with headache, nausea and fatigue; and its severe forms, high-altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPE), fluid in the lungs, and high-altitude cerebral oedema (HACE), swelling of the brain. Both are emergencies, and the definitive treatment for both is the same — descend. The standard preventive rule is to climb high and sleep low, gaining sleeping altitude gradually. The presence of medical staff with the team, as the release notes, is not ceremonial.
For a candidate headed to the NDA this is not abstract. The Indian Army maintains the High Altitude Warfare School at Gulmarg, and a substantial part of India's northern border is held at altitudes where these physiological facts govern how long a soldier can work and how much they can carry.
The NCC, and what an expedition like this is for
The National Cadet Corps was raised under the NCC Act, 1948, and came into existence in 1948. It functions under the Ministry of Defence — not the Ministry of Education, which is the standard trap — and is headed by a Director General of three-star rank, currently Lt Gen Virendra Vats. Its motto is 'Unity and Discipline'.
Structure worth carrying: the NCC has Army, Navy and Air Wings; a Senior Division for college students and a Junior Division for schools, each with a girls' counterpart; and certificates graded A, B and C. The 'C' certificate carries practical weight, since it brings reserved vacancies and exemptions in some officer-entry routes. The NCC also runs the Republic Day Camp in New Delhi, and adventure activities — mountaineering, trekking, sailing, parasailing — of which this expedition is one.
The stated aims were to promote participation of young women in adventure activities, provide exposure to challenging high-altitude conditions, and strengthen national integration by bringing together cadets from different parts of the country. The DG's remark named the intended outputs: leadership, self-confidence, teamwork and endurance.
That last aim deserves taking seriously rather than reading as boilerplate. Twenty cadets drawn from across India, walking for a month in conditions where the group's pace is set by its slowest member and where nobody finishes alone, is a reasonable approximation of what small-unit leadership actually demands — which is why selection boards value it.
It also sits in a visible line of change. Women were admitted to the National Defence Academy from 2022 following the Supreme Court's orders, and the first batch of NDA-trained women officers — 17 cadets of the 148th Course — was commissioned in 2026. An all-girls high-altitude expedition of this length belongs to the same shift, and a candidate asked about women in the armed forces should be able to connect the two.
🔑 Revision block
The event. 'Aparajita – Parang La 2026', the NCC's All India Girls High Altitude Long Trek. 20 NCC girl cadets. Flagged off by the Raksha Mantri in New Delhi on 18 August 2026; flagged in at Karzok, Ladakh, on 16 September 2026 by DG NCC Lt Gen Virendra Vats and Addl Secretary MoD Smt Dipti Mohil Chawla.
The route. Kibber (Himachal Pradesh) → Karzok (Ladakh), crossing the Parang La at about 5,578 m. About 250 km in 30 days, through glaciers, snowfields and river valleys. An old trade route between Spiti and Changthang, following the Pare Chu — a river that flows from India into Tibet and back.
The geography. North of the pass lie the Rupshu plains of the Changthang, the western extension of the Tibetan Plateau — a cold desert. Pastoralists: the Changpa, whose Changthangi goats yield pashmina. Wildlife: kiang (Tibetan wild ass), black-necked crane. Karzok stands on Tso Moriri — a Ramsar site in the Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary. Related lakes: Pangong Tso, Tso Kar. All brackish because they are endorheic — no outlet to the sea.
Altitude physiology. The percentage of oxygen stays about 21%; the partial pressure falls with total atmospheric pressure. At about 5,500 m, pressure is roughly half that at sea level. Acclimatisation: faster and deeper breathing, raised heart rate, then erythropoietin stimulating more red blood cells over weeks. Hence a slow, staged ascent.
The dangers. AMS (headache, nausea, fatigue); HAPE (pulmonary oedema); HACE (cerebral oedema). Definitive treatment for the severe forms: descend. Rule of thumb: climb high, sleep low.
The NCC. Raised under the NCC Act, 1948; under the Ministry of Defence (not Education). Headed by a Director General — Lt Gen Virendra Vats. Motto: 'Unity and Discipline'. Army, Navy and Air Wings; Senior and Junior Divisions; certificates A, B and C, with the 'C' certificate carrying entry benefits. Runs the Republic Day Camp and adventure activities.
The wider shift. Women admitted to the NDA from 2022 after Supreme Court orders; the first 17 NDA-trained women officers commissioned in 2026.
🎯 Practice MCQs
Q1. Parang La connects the Spiti Valley with: (a) Zanskar (b) the Changthang region of Ladakh (c) Lahaul (d) Kinnaur → (b) — an old trade route, now the trek's crossing point.
Q2. The National Cadet Corps functions under which ministry? (a) Education (b) Defence (c) Youth Affairs and Sports (d) Home Affairs → (b) — the Education Ministry is the standard wrong option.
Q3. At an altitude of about 5,500 metres, atmospheric pressure is approximately: (a) One-tenth of sea level (b) One-quarter of sea level (c) Half of sea level (d) The same as sea level → (c) — which is why each breath delivers far less oxygen.
Q4. The proportion of oxygen in the atmosphere at high altitude: (a) Falls to about 10 per cent (b) Remains about 21 per cent, but its partial pressure falls (c) Rises with altitude (d) Varies with latitude only → (b) — the composition is unchanged; the pressure is not.
Q5. Tso Moriri, near the trek's finishing point, is: (a) A freshwater lake with an outlet to the Indus (b) A brackish high-altitude lake and a Ramsar site (c) A glacial tarn in Spiti (d) A man-made reservoir → (b) — in the Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary.
Q6. The long-term physiological adaptation to high altitude involves increased production of: (a) Insulin (b) Adrenaline (c) Erythropoietin, raising red blood cell count (d) Thyroxine → (c) — which takes weeks, hence staged ascent.
Q7. The definitive treatment for high-altitude pulmonary or cerebral oedema is: (a) Increased fluid intake (b) Rest at the same altitude (c) Descent to lower altitude (d) Higher-calorie diet → (c) — supplemental oxygen helps, but descent is definitive.
Q8. Pashmina wool comes from goats reared chiefly by which pastoral community of Ladakh? (a) Gujjar (b) Bakarwal (c) Changpa (d) Brokpa → (c) — the Changthangi goat of the Changthang plateau.
Q9. The kiang, found on the Changthang plateau, is a: (a) Wild goat (b) Tibetan wild ass (c) Wild yak (d) Himalayan ibex → (b).
Q10. Consider the following statements about 'Aparajita – Parang La 2026': 1. The team comprised 20 NCC girl cadets. 2. The trek covered about 250 kilometres over 30 days. (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither → (c) — from Kibber in Himachal Pradesh to Karzok in Ladakh.
📋 How this gets asked (PYQ pattern)
This single item can generate questions in three different sections, which is why it repays proper study. As geography, it asks where a pass lies or which regions it connects — the Himalayan pass list (Parang La, Rohtang, Baralacha La, Khardung La, Zoji La, Shipki La, Nathu La, Bomdi La) is standard material, and the discriminator is always which two places does it join. As general science, it asks about atmospheric pressure and altitude, where the composition-versus-partial-pressure distinction is the reliable trap. As defence awareness, it asks about the NCC — its ministry, its Act and year, its motto, its Director General's rank, or the significance of the 'C' certificate.
A fourth, increasingly common groove is women in the armed forces: NDA admission from 2022, the first NDA-trained women officers commissioned in 2026, women in combat aviation, and expeditions of this kind. Expect these as a two-statement item.
The fresh 2026 hooks are the expedition's name, the 20 cadets, 250 km in 30 days, the Kibber-to-Karzok route and the 5,578 m pass height, plus Lt Gen Virendra Vats as DG NCC. We describe the recurring pattern here, not any exact past question.
Preparing for the NDA? One expedition like this touches geography, physiology and defence awareness at once — exactly the kind of item worth learning in all three directions. Build the base with our NDA geography hub, follow the daily NDA current affairs, and prepare with our faculty in the upcoming Cavalier courses in Delhi.
✍️ Written by Col Vijyanat Thakur — Defence studies faculty at The Cavalier. Reviewed by the Cavalier Faculty Desk. The Cavalier, founded by ex-Army officers, has trained NDA/CDS/SSB aspirants since 2001 (Facebook · YouTube).
Source: PIB / Ministry of Defence, 16 September 2026 (Release ID 2310725). The Parang La route and altitude, the Pare Chu's course, Tso Moriri's Ramsar status, and the altitude-physiology material cross-verified with independent geographical and medical sources.