NCC Girl Cadets Begin 250-km High-Altitude Trek ‘Aparajita – Parang La 2026’.
New Delhi:
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday flagged off the National Cadet Corps’ (NCC) All India Girls High Altitude Long Trek ‘Aparajita – Parang La 2026’, a flagship adventure expedition aimed at promoting leadership, resilience, self-confidence, teamwork and national integration among young women cadets.
The expedition will take 28 NCC Girl Cadets on an approximately 250-kilometre trek over 30 days across one of India’s most challenging high-altitude routes. The trek will cross the Parang La Pass at an altitude of 5,578 metres (18,300 feet), connecting Himachal Pradesh’s Spiti Valley with the Changthang region of Ladakh.
The expedition team is being led by three women officers representing the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. The participating cadets have an average age of 19 years, while the youngest participant is 16-and-a-half years old.
Addressing the cadets at the flag-off ceremony in New Delhi, Rajnath Singh described their participation in the demanding expedition as a powerful testimony to the courage, determination and growing capabilities of the country’s women.
He said such adventure expeditions play an important role in developing leadership qualities, mental resilience, discipline and self-confidence among young people. He commended the cadets for their rigorous physical and mental preparation and said the expedition would provide them with valuable lessons in resilience, confidence and self-discovery.
The approximately 250-km route will pass through Kibber, Dumla, Thaltak, Bongrojen, Parang La Pass, Dak Karzong, Norbu Sumdo, Kiangdom and Korzok. The cadets and their support teams will encounter high-altitude deserts, glaciers, snowfields and river valleys during the expedition.
Rajnath Singh urged the expedition team to give priority to safety, environmental protection and respectful engagement with local communities. He asked the cadets to strictly follow the instructions of their instructors, avoid unnecessary risks and adopt a zero-waste approach to protect the fragile Himalayan ecosystem.
He also encouraged the participants to interact respectfully with local communities, understand their culture and traditions and learn from their experiences. He said the expedition could become a defining milestone in their lives and inspire them to remain “Aparajita” at every stage.
Highlighting the achievements of NCC cadets in adventure activities across land, water and air, Rajnath Singh praised the girl cadets for demonstrating the spirit of Nari Shakti by taking the lead in a demanding expedition.
He also underlined the participation of cadets from NCC Directorates across the country, saying that their diverse languages, cultures and backgrounds, united by a common mission, reflect the spirit of Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat.
The expedition is being conducted in two phases. A preparatory and acclimatisation trek was first organised in the Bhaba-Pin Valley sector, following which the final team of Girl Cadets was selected on merit.
The expedition has been conceptualised to strengthen Nari Shakti, leadership, self-confidence, teamwork, endurance and national integration among NCC Girl Cadets.
NCC Director General Lieutenant General Virendra Vats and other senior officials from the NCC and Ministry of Defence were present at the flag-off ceremony.
The challenging journey across the Parang La route is expected to test the cadets’ physical endurance and mental resilience while providing them with an opportunity to develop leadership skills and gain firsthand experience of the Himalayan environment and local communities.
