Sir Edmund Hillary is back in Nepal, calling on tourists to follow him there after the restoration of democracy.
Weeks of rioting almost prevented Hillary's return to the land he loves, but that changed when people power forced the king to reinstate parliament.
The adventurer and his wife June are in Nepal and say now more tourists are needed to help rebuild the nation's shattered economy.
Just a week ago Kathmandu's streets were predicted to be running in blood with a showdown looming between the people and the king. But the huge public demonstrations and riots that forced King Gyanendra to abandon absolute rule opened the way for their return.
"We really didn't have any idea if we'd be able to get back here because there had been so much trouble in the country," says Sir Edmund.
With the country's economy devastated by the recent troubles, Hillary says it is tourists who can offer the best practical help to ordinary Nepalese citizens.
"I am hoping now that they will come like they always have because they really need it... things have been at a real low ebb," says June Hillary.
Nepal's Maoist rebels have declared a three-month ceasefire and political parties forming a new government promised to work with them, dramatically raising hopes of an end to the decade-old conflict.
Years of Maoist insurgency has resulted in the deaths of more than 13,000 people.
King Gyanendra caved in to the pro-democracy movement on Monday, reconvening the country's dissolved parliament. Mainstream political parties were invited to form the government and they promised to hold elections for a special assembly to write a new constitution, reflecting Maoist demands.
The rebels, after initially announcing a blockade of Kathmandu and district capitals, called off the move. The declaration of a unilateral ceasefire was the icing on the cake.
However the Maoists, while announcing the three-month ceasefire, reiterated their demand that the parliament's first session on Friday make plans for a constituent assembly.
Reciprocal action
A senior political leader welcomed the Maoist announcement and said the incoming government would likely join the truce.
"They (Maoists) have taken the initiative to take the credit of showing themselves as initiators of peace," said Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML), the second-largest in the main seven-party alliance.
He expected the government to announce a ceasefire of its own, release Maoist prisoners, withdraw international arrest warrants for its top leaders and invite them for talks.
The Maoists had initially called the king's deal with the political parties a "sham," unhappy that his address to the nation to dissolve parliament made no explicit mention of their demand for a constituent assembly. But they later came around, underlining they expected their demands to be met very soon.
"We want to make it clear that if the first meeting of the parliament does not take a positive decision on the declaration of an unconditional constituent assembly, we will be compelled to reimpose the blockade," Prachanda said in an earlier statement.
On Thursday, the rebels said there were "efforts to undervalue the great ideals shown on the street" as a movement only for the reinstatement of parliament by political parties.
Girija Prasad Koirala, 84, is set to become Nepal's next prime minister after the king handed over power to the alliance.
Analysts said there were plenty of pitfalls ahead. The Maoist demand for an unconditional constituent assembly is generally interpreted to mean it should have the power to strip the king of his title and establish a republic.
But an assembly on those terms is not something the king would be happy with, and could use the Supreme Court, dominated by royal appointees, to block it.
It was also not clear if the Maoists would agree to lay down their weapons before elections to the special assembly, something parliament is expected to demand.
