The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Presidential Secretariat and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau organised the Ella Odyssey, a familiarisation tour of Nuwara Eliya and Ella for foreign heads of missions in Colombo, and nine heads of missions based in New Delhi who presented credentials to President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The foreign heads of missions undertook a journey on board the Viceroy Special – a vintage train reminiscent of the country’s colonial past, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said. The diplomatic envoys passed St. Clair’s Fall, the biodiverse Knuckles Range and Pattipola, home to Sri Lanka’s highest railway station during the journey
The diplomats also witnessed a railway signaling routine from the bygone era, still meticulously adhered to on the country’s tracks – the Tyer’s Tablet System, the PMD said.
The heads of mission also had the opportunity to call on President Wickremesinghe and First Lady Maithree Wickremasinghe at the official residence of the President in Nuwara Eliya. Costs associated with the tour were borne by participating foreign heads of mission, and through sponsorship by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau.