A group of 18 girls from Kargil are on a 15-day Army sponsored tour which will take them to Srinagar, Jammu, Chandigarh and Delhi.

"The prime objective of the tour is to foster national integration and provide an opportunity for young students to visit various historical and cultural cities in the country," Chief of Staff, Western Command, Lt General P K Grover, said on Monday after interacting with the girls.

Mariam, who is a class 12th student in Government Girls' Higher Secondary School at Kargil, says that she will remember her first trip outside her state for the rest of her life.

Mariam said till a few days ago she had little idea what life outside her town was like. "But thanks to the army's efforts today I have got the rare opportunity to have a glimpse into the world so full of diversities," she said.

For 15-year-old Stanzin Chosnetch, a 10th class student, the experience of travelling outside Kargil for the first time has been 'very good'.

"I saw a train for the first time in my life. Seeing different kinds of people and beautiful culture of our nation has also been a unique experience," she said.

The army-run Women Empowerment Centre in Kargil has been training these students in skills varying from tailoring to computer learning.