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United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who arrived in Pokhara on Monday in the course of his four-day official visit to Nepal, has left for the Annapurna Base Camp.

He left for the Base Camp on a helicopter of the Nepali Army this morning.

The UN high dignitary will hold talks with the locals on the impact of climate change in the Himalayan region, the condition of the mountains among other topics upon reaching the Base Camp, it has been said. The Base Camp is situated at 4, 130 meters above sea level.

All preparations have been completed for welcoming the Secretary General, said Dilip Gurung, the Secretary of the Chhomrong Tourism Committee.

The Annapurna Base Camp is a world-famous and highly rated destination in trekking tourism. The trek around the base of Mt Annapurna is considered as one of the best treks of the world. Mt Annapurna is the tenth highest mountain in the world at 8,091 meters (26,545 ft) above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its ascent.

The Annapurna started drawing the attention of mountaineers around the world after French climber Maurice Herzog led a French expedition to its summit through the north face in 1950, making it the first eight-thousand-meter peak ever successfully climbed.

Tourists specially from Europe, America, Malaysia, China, Korea come for trekking in the Annapurna Base Camp. 

This area has become a popular trekking destination after the world-renowned trekker Eric Simpton trekked to the Annapurna Base Camp in 1996, one and a half decades after the first ascent of the peak.

A marathon competition is held every year from the Annapurna Base Camp to Ghandruk on the occasion of the Annapurna Ascent Day marking the first ascent of the mountain for highlighting the prestige and significance of Mt Annapurna.

Annapurna Base Camp Trek offers spectacular mountain views and gives the opportunity to experience the typical Nepali village, local people and their way of living traditional life in Himalaya. The Annapurna Base Camp route passes through magnificent and tranquil landscapes, charming Gurung and Magar villages, lush green Rhododendron, bamboo and alpine forests.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is presently on a four-day official visit to Nepal beginning on Sunday, has said the world should learn a lesson from Nepal's homegrown practices for the establishment of peace.

In his address to a program organized at the Pulchowk-based UN Building in Lalitpur today, Guterres said the world should take a lesson from Nepal's homegrown practices for establishing peace, efforts to conclude transitional justice and its contribution to the UN peacekeeping operations.

On the occasion, he urged the UN staff in Nepal to assist Nepal to become competitive and successful in each areas including the socio-economic sector.  He sought the role of UN staff here in Nepal's efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

He made it clear that his Nepal visit is primarily centered on the matters to conclude the peace process, to assist those affected by the impact of climate change and to facilitate Nepal to graduate to a developing country from the category of the least developed country.  He reminded that the interests of survivors be prioritized while taking the transitional justice process to a conclusion.

Expressing his concerns about Nepal bearing the brunt of the impacts of climate change including snow melting although it does not have any role in carbon emissions globally, Secretary-General Guterres stressed the need for all stakeholders to take the matter seriously.

Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal said all assistance would continue for upgrading Nepal to a developing country and achieving a sustainable peace as per the UN guidelines and recommendations. The UN continues to support Nepal for the implementation of its constitutional rights and the equitable inclusive development, she added.

Guterres arrived in Nepal on Sunday at the invitation of Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

Five conflict victims’ organizations have sought an urgent meeting with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is currently on a four-day official visit to Nepal, to share their collective pain and experience of the TJ process so far.

“Secretary General, between now and the time of your departure on Wednesday morning, we request you to find time for a meeting so that victims’ representatives may share with our collective pain, experience of the TJ process thus far, our efforts for credible TJ process and suggestions,” reads a statement signed by Rupesh Shah, Chairperson Nepali Society of Families of Disappeared and Missing Nepal (NEFAD), Surendra KC, Chairperson of National Network of Disabled Conflicts Victims, Srijana Singh, Chairperson of Conflict Victim Women National Network (CVWN), Gopal Shah, Chairperson of Conflict Victims National Alliance (CVNA) and Kalyan Budhathoki, Acting Chairperson Conflict Victims Common Platform (CVCP).

“We are happy that Nepal’s peace process and transitional justice form a prominent part of your current visit’s agenda. We have been gratified by your public call for our transitional justice process to follow precepts of international humanitarian law, judgements of Nepal’s Supreme Court and the needs of conflict victims,” according to the statement.

They, however, expressed their displeasure over not including them, the victims of Nepal’s decade-long conflict, in his itinerary.

“As far as the peace process is concerned, we note that your scheduled meetings have been with the leaders of the former warring sides but not citizens who were victimized by the actions of the state on the one hand and the rebels on the other,” the statement further reads.

Underscoring that Nepal’s peace process has the possibility of succeeding where so many others have failed and stand as an example for post-conflict societies, they said that it is important to ensure success of the Nepali process with immediate provision of reparation to victims and a principled truth, justice, reparation and reconciliation process that includes accountability of heinous crime.

“While our own government has not been enthused to arrange a meeting between us, we hope that his request for an appointment by us victims, united regardless of the source of our pain will be considered positively by you,” the statement further reads.

Visiting UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has pledged to bring global attention to the impact of climate change on mountain life in Nepal.

He made this commitment while visiting the Khumbu Pasang Lhyamu Rural Municipality-4 in Solukhumbu as part of his four-day official trip to Nepal.

On the occasion, Guterres engaged in an interaction with the local community to discuss the challenges posed by climate change and its impacts on their daily lives. He vowed to inform the world about the consequences of climate change in mountain regions, incorporating the input of the local residents in the upcoming COP-28, the UN Climate Change Conference.

The UN Secretary General highlighted that developed nations bear significant responsibility for climate change, but it is disheartening that rural areas like Khumbu are experiencing its consequences disproportionately, according to rural municipality chair Laxman Adhikari.

Guterres vowed to initiate efforts to mitigate the consequences of climate change and raise global awareness of the urgency of addressing these issues.

During the interaction, local residents informed him about various climate change-related issues, including the melting of snow, climate change-induced hazards, the depletion of water resources, the impact on local agriculture, and occurrences of avalanches. They also discussed the energy crisis in their locality and requested UN support for the development of micro hydropower projects.

The delegation led by Secretary General Guterres includes Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Undersecretary General for Peace Operations, the United Nations, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, the UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal and other UN officials.

Guterres arrived in Nepal on Sunday on his four-day official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

On the first day of his visit, he separately paid a courtesy call on President Ram Chandra Paudel and PM Dahal. He also had separate meetings with Nepali Congress President and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN-UML Chairman and former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud.

Following the meetings, Secretary General Guterres visited the Patan Durbar Square, a heritage site of historical and archeological importance.

PM Dahal hosted a banquet reception on Sunday evening in his honor. 

During his stay in Nepal, he is planning to visit Pokhara, Annapurna Base Camp and Lumbini.

According to the Parliament Secretariat, he is slated to address the joint session of the Federal Parliament on Tuesday afternoon.