Eco-friendly Shopping at Elephant Falls & Nohkalikai Falls | Meghalaya

Here to share one of my eco-friendly shopping experiences at

Elephant Falls & Nohkalikai Falls, Meghalaya!

Elephant Falls

Nohkalikai Falls

Short Shot Story

Nohkalikai Falls was the place where I truly realized why Meghalaya was named so. The persistent clouds ☁ and mist made it impossible for me to see the Nohkalikai Falls, let alone capturing it. 

After exploring the area for a good 45 minutes, there was little hope of being able to see anything in the valley.

That was when a little eco-friendly shopping happened.

These ↓ were a couple of pieces that I picked up from the street stalls near the waterfalls mentioned above.

*Ones with blue headings are from Nohkalikai Falls, and ones with brown headings are from Elephant Falls

Bamboo mug

✓ Easy to carry when travelling

✓ Good replacement for non-biodegradable single-use cups

✓ It has an unpolished internal surface

✓ Can be used for drinking water

✓ Can be washed with a bottle brush

✓ Can be kept in the sun to be dried and sanitized

⚠ Due to its slightly porous surface, using dishwashing soap to clean it won't be a good option.

Note: The mug gives a soothing petrichor-like fragrance immediately after the water is drained. Who doesn't like the aroma of wet earth? 

Bamboo fan

✓ Appropriate for Meghalaya's humid climate

✓ Handy during travel

The pop of colours can make a gloomy day vibrant!

 Keychains inspired by conical bamboo bins

✓ Traditional & characteristic style of Meghalaya's bins

✓  Light & unbreakable

✓ Interesting and reasonable souvenirs of utility that you can buy in bulk for friends and family, without worrying about space

Bamboo whistle

If you have a habit of walking away from the group and getting lost, this might be helpful. 😛

Bamboo holders with covers

Make good gifts for grandmothers (saying this at the risk of sounding prejudiced).

Bamboo bin

You wouldn't want to use it as a dustbin!

Bamboo hair bun pin

Little delicate to actually be worn but beautifully crafted, thus, difficult not to get one. 

A pair of wooden earrings

✓ Of utility

✓ Very light on the ears

✓ Look amazing when light passes through them and casts a patterned shadow

Buddha idol carved in stone

For some peace  ☮ and tranquillity!

Continuing the Short Shot Story...soon after shopping was over near Nohkalikai Falls, it started to rain heavily. The car was far away, and I had to run a distance of almost 340 m with all the things I had bought in my hands.

As I was running, I heard a few travellers point out that the sky had cleared up and the Nohkalikai Falls was finally visible. I ran. I just ran toward the viewpoint, and without caring about anything, I took my phone out for taking the shot.

However, capturing the view as an image was not enough, so I stood for another 2 minutes just looking at the majestic Nohkalikai Falls, the tallest plunge waterfall in India, with a height of 1115 feet.

Wildlife SOS | Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary | World Wildlife Day | Agra

Wish what is unconventional now, was conventional. Do give this blog a read if you are an animal lover and exploring nature is your cup of tea. 

The picture above is from a resort in Agra. Morning walks are my thing, thus this. The morning madness around these exciting creatures who were chatting among themselves was quite a wake-up call. 

Post breakfast I decided to ditch sightseeing and went to visit Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary instead and that turned out to be one of the best decisions of the day. 

Upon reaching, the first area I visited was what I would like to call as the 'snakes and thorns' area. All my excitement to see a python was being pricked by fallen branches with thorns that were sticking to my shoes. 

Thereafter, with no luck at witnessing a python, the next thing to do was to go for a boat ride in Keetham lake. There were various species of birds including Siberian birds. I didn't get a chance to see the big turtle the District Forest Officer was talking about. 

During the boat ride, the only thing I had my eyes on were these birds walking on the bank, taking a flight, or wading in the lake waters. The water was reddish-brown and I don't exactly know why that was but occasionally doing kiddish things like putting my hand to feel the water was intelligible to me. Nonetheless, I wasn't judged by anyone for what I was doing.

Post the boat ride I was finally going to visit the area I was most looking forward to, Wildlife SOS's Bear Rescue Centre, where they had kept sloth bears that were earlier conditioned into dancing for the public. 

The centre was divided into two major parts; one, where the newly rescued sloth bears had been kept for adapting into natural surroundings, and the other was where the bears were being brought back to their normal self. 

There was one bear who was dancing and I can't seem to forget that dance. Somehow, it made me feel that the bear wasn't happy, but who is to know. 

Apparently, sloth bears who are habitual of dancing for a human audience start repeating old behavioural patterns when they see humans and that was why the Education Officer told us to not pry.

Besides, being nocturnal animals, most of them were sleeping but I happened to get permission to click this one. I had to look twice or thrice to realize it was a bear, sleeping. 


Post that I got immersed in the conversation discussing what the bears were being fed. I was told that sloth bears are insectivorous and like to feed on honey. That's when I was also shown honeycombs on the top of the trees. 

Having no memory of seeing bears, I was elated to see them and was happier to see that they weren't held captive in cages, apart from a few whose excreta samples had to be taken as part of a regular check-up. 


Moving on, I walked for 45 minutes soaking in the energy of the place and meeting monkeys and deer off and on. 

What was to come next was not planned, but again was a decision I am glad I took. I had time at hand and there was an elephant rescue centre nearby and I had to go. I have an affinity for elephants.

Upon reaching this guy was painting. It was more beautiful than it is looking in the picture. There were many such works of art by various artists. 

The Education Officer at this place seemed quite connected to the cause and gave insightful data points on cruelty that elephants face in the name of culture, tradition, and tourism. Was shown a documentary depicting how they are exploited. 

After a quick round, I was finally at the place where I spent most of my time that day. I was intrigued by these twelve or so elephants. Literally watched them have their greens and play with wet mud for about two hours.