We introduce an integrable two-component extension of the general heavenly equation and prove that the solutions of this extension are in one-to-one correspondence with 4-dimensional hyper-para-Hermitian metrics. Furthermore, we demonstrate that if the metrics in question are hyper-para-K & auml;hler, then our system reduces to the general heavenly equation. We also present an infinite hierarchy of nonlocal symmetries, as well as a recursion operator, for the system under study.