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.

  • 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 …

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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.

  • 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…

  • DD Shop

    Thimphu

    Stocks a reasonable range of brand-named, but not brand-made outdoor gear, imported from Nepal, and better-quality Chinese brands. Good items to buy…

  • Sachok Enterprise

    Thimphu

    Sachok Enterprise has a reasonable range of genuine and fake brand-name equipment, and the owner is honest about what's what. Good for sleeping bags, down…

  • Sangay Arts & Crafts

    Thimphu

    You can purchase works by graduates of the National Institute for Zorig Chusum at this nearby shop, run by a former student.

  • Sonam Rinzin Tshongkhang

    Bhutan

    In the town square, known as Gotopony, this friendly general store has just about everything you may need or have recently run out of.

  • Samphel Traditional Furniture

    Thimphu

    This tiny carpentry shop specialises in ornately carved and painted home altars, choektse tables and dhapa drums.

  • Hong Kong Market

    Thimphu

    This backstreet alley is the most central place in Thimphu to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.

  • Gedun Tshongkhang

    Thimphu

    Religious shop specialising in monks' robes and other monastic paraphernalia.

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