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Harith Sankalpa[/caption]
Harith Sankalpa is a professional videographer who has garnered a large following on social media for his dynamic and incredibly vibrant imagery which he shares both on his Instagram page and personal YouTube channel.
A content creator with a deep-seated passion for adventure travel, Harith shared that while his professional career has been officially up and running for the past three years, he has been creating travel content and video projects for as long as he can remember, and that it has been a true blessing to be able to do what he loves as a profession.
Harith commented that back when he first started capturing nature footage, especially the type of scenic videos he takes of Sri Lanka’s many natural marvels – the atmospheric, immersive content he creates – he said that there wasn’t any dedicated body who was doing it commercially and so he wished to bridge that gap.
He also stated that while his Instagram page has attracted a considerable bit of attention, he wishes to not sway from the path he is currently on. Therefore, he has made a concentrated effort not to take away the focus from the core theme of the majority of his content, which is showcasing every inch of Sri Lanka in its natural and unbelievably gorgeous state, and to promote the wonders of travel and adventure.
Getting positively giddy as he shared with us his experience working and creating this type of travel videos, he told us a story which he believes to be unforgettable and surely a highlight in the many experiences he has had. He shared that usually when he and his team set off on a trip, they tend to try and optimise their experience – which is understandable, of course – and Harith said that they often have a limited time to dedicate to exploring and experiencing their surroundings, and so when they do get the chance, they want to do it all, and so they always plan extensively before visiting their destination, in order to fully cover the place, so as not to miss anything.
In this particular instance, he said that they were headed on a two-day trek to an area called Gonmolliya Kanda in Balathuduwa. Known to be an extremely difficult trek, while many hikers attempt it, they tend to stop at Wangedigala and camp out there instead, as it is rather difficult and the elements are really against you if you are not well prepared – the weather changes from freezing temperatures to dessert heat really fast, and these harsh conditions, paired with the over 20 km hike, is a real challenge. If you are not both physically and mentally prepared to brave the conditions, it is not recommended you embark on this trek.
However, Harith said because they were determined to get the maximum from their visit, they really braved through. However, because of the nature of the hike, they could not carry a lot of weight on them, and so the amount of water they took with them turned out to not be enough. Additionally, with the weather changing on them suddenly, he said that the best way he can describe the environment was what he’d imagine being lost in the desert would feel like.
Somehow, despite the freezing night time, fear of leopards that were known to roam the area, and of course the lack of water, they were able to climb down from the side of Adara Kanda. However, he said that upon reaching the base, they were apprehended by the locals, who were extremely hostile towards them, as they apparently do not allow any hikers to climb up or down Adara Kanda; Harith said that in order to deescalate the incident, the Police had to get involved.
He shared that it is nearly impossible to share so briefly this experience which felt like a series of unfortunate events, however, he is happy to have come out of it unscathed and it has remained a memory he will cherish.
Harith said that travel is a passion he has embraced as a career, and he only wishes to grow as much as he can in his chosen field, sharing also that he has plans to put together a group of people whom are as equally passionate as he is to create content that is of the calibre of those nature/adventure documentaries we see on Discovery, National Geographic, etc. He wishes to create content that is rare and nuanced and he believes that, perhaps one day, this would be what he does, and is what he would like to work towards.
Harith Sankalpa[/caption]
Harith Sankalpa is a professional videographer who has garnered a large following on social media for his dynamic and incredibly vibrant imagery which he shares both on his Instagram page and personal YouTube channel.
A content creator with a deep-seated passion for adventure travel, Harith shared that while his professional career has been officially up and running for the past three years, he has been creating travel content and video projects for as long as he can remember, and that it has been a true blessing to be able to do what he loves as a profession.
Harith commented that back when he first started capturing nature footage, especially the type of scenic videos he takes of Sri Lanka’s many natural marvels – the atmospheric, immersive content he creates – he said that there wasn’t any dedicated body who was doing it commercially and so he wished to bridge that gap.
He also stated that while his Instagram page has attracted a considerable bit of attention, he wishes to not sway from the path he is currently on. Therefore, he has made a concentrated effort not to take away the focus from the core theme of the majority of his content, which is showcasing every inch of Sri Lanka in its natural and unbelievably gorgeous state, and to promote the wonders of travel and adventure.
Getting positively giddy as he shared with us his experience working and creating this type of travel videos, he told us a story which he believes to be unforgettable and surely a highlight in the many experiences he has had. He shared that usually when he and his team set off on a trip, they tend to try and optimise their experience – which is understandable, of course – and Harith said that they often have a limited time to dedicate to exploring and experiencing their surroundings, and so when they do get the chance, they want to do it all, and so they always plan extensively before visiting their destination, in order to fully cover the place, so as not to miss anything.
In this particular instance, he said that they were headed on a two-day trek to an area called Gonmolliya Kanda in Balathuduwa. Known to be an extremely difficult trek, while many hikers attempt it, they tend to stop at Wangedigala and camp out there instead, as it is rather difficult and the elements are really against you if you are not well prepared – the weather changes from freezing temperatures to dessert heat really fast, and these harsh conditions, paired with the over 20 km hike, is a real challenge. If you are not both physically and mentally prepared to brave the conditions, it is not recommended you embark on this trek.
However, Harith said because they were determined to get the maximum from their visit, they really braved through. However, because of the nature of the hike, they could not carry a lot of weight on them, and so the amount of water they took with them turned out to not be enough. Additionally, with the weather changing on them suddenly, he said that the best way he can describe the environment was what he’d imagine being lost in the desert would feel like.
Somehow, despite the freezing night time, fear of leopards that were known to roam the area, and of course the lack of water, they were able to climb down from the side of Adara Kanda. However, he said that upon reaching the base, they were apprehended by the locals, who were extremely hostile towards them, as they apparently do not allow any hikers to climb up or down Adara Kanda; Harith said that in order to deescalate the incident, the Police had to get involved.
He shared that it is nearly impossible to share so briefly this experience which felt like a series of unfortunate events, however, he is happy to have come out of it unscathed and it has remained a memory he will cherish.
Harith said that travel is a passion he has embraced as a career, and he only wishes to grow as much as he can in his chosen field, sharing also that he has plans to put together a group of people whom are as equally passionate as he is to create content that is of the calibre of those nature/adventure documentaries we see on Discovery, National Geographic, etc. He wishes to create content that is rare and nuanced and he believes that, perhaps one day, this would be what he does, and is what he would like to work towards.