Must-see shopping in Bhutan

  • Tarayana Rural Products

    Thimphu

    Bhutan's Queen Mother Dorje Wangmo (the fourth king's wife) established this NGO to support rural communities across Bhutan through the marketing and…

  • Bhutan Traditional Archery Shop

    Thimphu

    This traditional bow and arrow maker at the Changlimithang Archery Ground sells bamboo bows, lacquered and strung to order. Expect to pay Nu 1800 for a…

  • Norzin Lam Craft Stalls

    Thimphu

    Dozens of craft stalls line the middle of Norzin Lam opposite the Taj Tashi hotel. It's the single best place in Thimphu to shop for crafts, with stalls…

  • KMT Yangkhil Book Shop

    Thimphu

    One of the best-stocked religious shops in Thimphu, selling everything from Buddhist scriptures and Buddha statues to kangling thigh-bone flutes.

  • National Handloom Development Project

    Eastern Bhutan

    Three kilometres from Khaling is the National Handloom Development Project, operated by the National Women’s Association of Bhutan (NWAB). It contracts…

  • Chencho Handicrafts

    Paro

    Chencho has an interesting selection of local handicrafts, and is particularly strong on weavings, antique kiras (women's traditional dresses) and…

  • Lama Tshering Dorji General Shop

    Paro

    This monk supply shop is one of several in Paro aimed squarely at locals and monks rather than tourists, but it's a fascinating browse. Items for sale…

  • Handicrafts Market

    Thimphu

    Across the Kundeyling Baazam cantilevered footbridge from the Weekend Market, this handicraft market on the east bank sells everything from wooden bowls…

  • Sephub Gyeltsen Tsongkhang

    Thimphu

    This is one of Thimphu's best cloth and clothing stores, with ready-made ghos (traditional dress for men) costing from Nu 2000 and kiras (traditional…

  • Philatelic Bureau

    Thimphu

    This shop below Thimphu's main post office sells Bhutanese stamps, first-day covers and – if you bring in a digital photo of yourself on a USB stick –…

  • DSB Books

    Thimphu

    Thimphu's best selection of magazines and newspapers, as well as coffee-table and other books on Buddhism, Bhutan and the region. It's on the ground floor…

  • Yoser Lhamo Shop

    Bhutan

    Yoser Lhamo is the main outlet for the Swiss Farm enterprises, where soft Gouda or hard Emmental cheese sells for Nu 650 per kilogram. This cheese is made…

  • Lungta Handicraft

    Thimphu

    This place has two floors of souvenirs from across Bhutan and further afield. The best buys here are larger items such as bamboo boxes, burl-wood dhapa …

  • Tashi Gongphel Bhutanese Paper

    Paro

    This showroom has products ranging from notebooks and cards to sheets of wrapping paper, all created from Bhutanese paper, traditionally made from either…

  • Bhimraj Stores

    Western Bhutan

    Located in the central bazaar next to Hotel Namgay, here you can buy a range of cloth from Nu 350 to 950 per metre; you'll need about 4m for a gho or kira…

  • Yuesel Handicrafts

    Paro

    This superior souvenir shop has the normal incense, tea, masks, cane boxes, traditional locks and books, but also dried mushrooms, ceramics, and the worm…

  • Craft Gallery

    Thimphu

    Run by the Gyalyum Charitable Trust, a personal project of the Queen Mother promoting traditional arts and crafts, this smart showroom sells high-quality…

  • Wood Turning & Laquering Cluster

    Eastern Bhutan

    This cooperative of local woodturners sells polished products in a small outlet near the dzong. The dapas turned from rhododendron wood (and other trees)…

  • TT Extra

    Paro

    This innocuous local grocery store has a section dedicated to local and organic Bhutanese products, making it a great place to pick up everything from…

  • Gagyel Lhundrup Weaving Centre

    Thimphu

    This private weaving centre at the south end of Thimphu produces expensive but high-quality hand-woven textiles and has a selection of ready-made garments…

  • Dragon Handicrafts

    Bhutan

    The most prominent souvenir shop in town has a decent range of books, masks and the like. It accepts credit cards, and you can also rent mountain bikes…

  • Choki Handicrafts

    Thimphu

    Set in a block of craft shops, Choki sells masks, thangka paintings, local clothing and other souvenirs. Many of the items are produced by the affiliated…

  • Nado Poizokhang Incense Showroom

    Thimphu

    This showroom sells incense made at the nearby Nado Poizokhang Incense Factory, which you can visit to watch the production process. It's opposite the…

  • Dolkar Handicrafts

    Thimphu

    Opening hours are erratic and the prices are high at this eccentric crafts store, often staffed by a doma-nut-chewing grandma, but there are some genuine…

  • Dhar Tshongkhang

    Thimphu

    The best-stocked dhar (prayer flag) shop in town, selling everything from multicoloured strings of flags to the tall, white, pole-mounted memorial flags…

  • Traditional Boot House

    Thimphu

    No prizes for guessing what's on sale at this small shop in a traditional house near the National Textile Museum. Colourfully embroidered tshoglham boots…

  • National Handicrafts Emporium

    Thimphu

    This government-run souvenir emporium has fixed prices and there's a good range of masks, paintings, textiles, and carved wooden items such as traditional…

  • Above Himalaya Trekking Store

    Thimphu

    The best trekking-gear store in town sells and rents sleeping bags, tents, wet-weather gear, solar battery chargers and even bottled oxygen. It also sells…

  • Dorji Gyeltshen Tshongkhang

    Thimphu

    The family-run and well-stocked places has shelves piled high with bolts of Bhutanese fabric and ready-made gho and kira (traditional dress for men and…

  • Junction Bookstore

    Thimphu

    A bookshop with a community feel (and a weekly reading club), Junction has a small but well-chosen selection of books about Bhutan, and there's a little…

  • Thinley Choden Handicraft

    Eastern Bhutan

    This small shop beside the Druk Deothjung Hotel is the place to load up on crafts such as traditional boots, painted masks and woven and embroidered…

  • Made in Bhutan

    Paro

    This slick operation has some expensive pieces, such as silver amulets and carved block prints, alongside cheaper souvenirs, fridge magnets and postcards.

  • Paro Canteen

    Paro

    A local general store that sells hard-to-find bottles of Red Panda beer for Nu 120, as well as TashiCell SIM cards (bring a photocopy of your passport).

  • Tarayana Rural Products

    Thimphu

    A branch of Tarayana Rural Products, selling fairly priced arts and crafts to support rural development.

  • Gongkhar Handicrafts

    Bhutan

    Stocks a small selection of glossy books, DVDs and textiles. This is the place to buy a miniature yak for the pool room…

  • Druk Adventure Gear

    Thimphu

    Has a decent stock of outdoor gear, including jackets, boots and bags.

  • Tashi Industries Carpet Factory

    Western Bhutan

    Anyone interested in carpets is welcome to make a visit to this handmade-carpet factory hidden in the north of town. At 49 knots per square inch, woven…

  • Pema Lhundup Handicrafts

    Eastern Bhutan

    This roadside weaving centre 1.5km past Rangjung sells beautiful embroidered cloth, shawls and scarfs made from bura (raw silk – literally 'insect fibre')…

  • Survey of Bhutan

    Thimphu

    Sells tourist maps of Paro, Bumthang and Thimphu, plus some more interesting 1:50,000 topographic maps of Bhutan regions that foreigners are sadly not…

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