High altitude studies were given a new thrust after the Chinese invasion of India in 1962. During the brief war with the Chinese, several Indian soldiers became breathless at moderate altitudes even at rest. Many of them had cough also. It came to be recognized only later that these soldiers were suffering from high altitude pulmonary oedema (HAPO). The discoveries of Professor A.S. Paintal provided evidence that the cough and breathlessness seen in HAPO were probably due to the stimulation of the type J receptors. In the larger national interest a separate Department to study high altitude physiology was started in 1982. Professor H.S. Nayar, who had done extensive research on high altitude problems while he was the Director of DIPAS, New Delhi, was appointed as the professor and head of this Department. Immediately after assuming charge, Professor Nayar took his team to Leh to investigate the effect of high altitude stresses on pulmonary function and body structure: a study among permanent and temporary residents. The results of this study were presented in the second Asian and Oceanian Physiological Congress held in New Delhi in 1990. The Department undertook studies on the pulmonary function tests in school going children at Delhi and Leh (Ladakh). This Department is now merged in the Department of Physiology.