The best souvenirs to to buy in Delhi, India

I'm a carry-on-only type of person, but when I make my annual trip to Delhi, I pack an extra suitcase to haul home an assortment of treasures, from fragrant rosewater soaps to giant jars of jackfruit achar (pickle), my favorite Indian condiment. On my last trip, I brought home a cotton quilt covered with purple flowers block-printed by hand. It’s the first thing I see when I wake up and its vivid colors add joy to stormy mornings. 

You’ll find fabulous souvenirs from across India everywhere in Delhi, from specialty boutiques to craft markets (Dilli Haat, a government-sponsored market showcasing crafts and foods from different states, is a good place to start). Whether you’re in the market for a new wardrobe or are looking for some tasty treats to pack for your friends back home, here are a few ideas of what to buy in Delhi.

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1. Jewelry

The jewelry industry in India is massive, with entire streets lined with shops devoted to ornate golden wedding jewelry paired with more subtle polki (uncut diamonds). Although gold is traditionally the metal of choice in India, silver is also easy to find. While big, fancy pieces are often priced based on a combination of factors, including craftsmanship, the price for simple rings and anklets is often based on weight and calculated based on the day’s rate.

Where to buy: Chandni Chowk and Karol Bagh are both great places for gold jewelry. In South Delhi, Greater Kailash M-Block Market has a few great options, including Babu Churi Wala for bangles and Siloffer for silver.

2. Fragrances

India’s perfumery traditions date back millennia, and scent manufacturers worldwide source fragrances such as sandalwood, tuberose and jasmine from Indian producers. Look for attars, traditional botanical oils created via distillation, without the use of alcohol bases typical to spray perfumes. This translates to longer-lasting scents that you won’t need to reapply. Just be careful: because attars are fairly concentrated, a little goes a long way.

Incense is also abundantly available and is used for a wide range of purposes, from religious ceremonies to insect repellent. It’s most commonly available in stick form (agarbathi), but you’ll also find it available in cones and as an ignitable resin (dhoop).

Where to buy: Gulabsingh Johrimal is one of the best-known places to buy both attar and incense in Delhi – they’ve been in business since 1816. In South Delhi, Kastoor sells traditional-method, single-fragrance attars and perfume blends.  

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3. Clothing and linens

Delhi has an incredible selection of clothing shops (and shops selling linens for the home), and you’d be hard-pressed to find a market that doesn’t have at least one shop selling womens wear. Great gifts to take home include shawls, scarves and tunics (known as kurtas if they are long or kurtis if they are short). Cushion covers and blankets also make great gifts, and items crafted using traditional methods such as hand-block printing are particularly popular.

Where to buy: For hand-block printed items, head to Anokhi, a Jaipur-based brand that has multiple showrooms across Delhi. For fabrics, head to Nehru Place or Gandhi Nagar. For saris and Indian formal attire, Chandni Chowk and South Extension are good options.

4. Books

If you love books, you're in for a serious treat: India has one of the world’s largest English-language publishing industries, which means there are plenty of places all over Delhi to pick up both new and secondhand books (just be wary of pirated copies – fakes often have misaligned pages with blurry text printed on low-quality paper). While you’ll find books by authors from around the world (P.G. Wodehouse paperbacks are ubiquitous), the biggest treat of book shopping in India is getting to score titles by emerging Indian authors that may not be easily available in your home country. 

Where to buy: For used books, head to the Sunday Book Market in Daryaganj (and bring a big bag). Other great places to shop for books in Delhi (especially if you want recommendations) include Bhari Sons and Faqir Chand in Khan Market, Midland Books in Aurobindo Market and Kunzum (multiple locations).

5. Ayurvedic beauty care

India’s holistic system of medicine, Ayurveda, has been around for thousands of years, and it’s still widely used to this day, often in tandem with allopathic medicines, to help people stay in balance. Many beauty-care companies apply the same principles to crafting everything from scalp-enriching hair oils to soothing face masks made from natural ingredients sourced from the subcontinent. You might be familiar with a few of them, including neem oil, a powerful anti-inflammatory that's used by gardeners around the world as a natural insecticide, and centella (gotu kola), which is frequently found in Korean skincare products. 

Where to buy: Khan Market in Central Delhi has showrooms of two of India’s most popular premium ayurvedic brands: Kama Ayurveda and Forest Essentials.

6. Thangkas and Tibetan Art

Mcleod Ganj in Himachal Pradesh is the best place in India to see (and buy) Tibetan art, as it’s the seat of the Tibetan government in exile and the home of the Dalai Lama. Still, Delhi is a great place to pick up thangkas (cloth paintings, usually of a Buddhist deity or a mandala), as well as prayer flags, malas (beads used for praying) and turquoise jewelry.

Where to buy: You'll find a great selection of Tibetan items in Majnu-ka-Tilla, a major Tibetan enclave in North Delhi, as well as at Janpath Market near Connaught Place. 

7. Snacks

While plenty of people bring home spices and tea from India, the snacks are really where it’s at, especially if you’re shopping for foodie friends. Even small corner stores in Delhi usually have a huge array of treats to take home, from Parle-G biscuits, a not-too-sweet cookie that’s ideal for dunking in tea, to potato chips flavored with the Indian market in mind (look for Lay’s Magic Masala chips, which are zested up with spices frequently used in North Indian snacks, including coriander seed powder and black salt). Namkeen, which refers to a huge range of salty-savory snack mixes made from everything from pulses to gram flour, is another must-try.

Where to buy: You'll find snacks at every corner store and supermarket in Delhi as well as at sweet shops, from independent stores to chains such as Haldiram’s.

Should I bargain while shopping in Delhi?

Yes, bargaining is very much part of the Delhi shopping experience. However, there are plenty of exceptions. Chain stores and boutiques in shopping malls and upscale markets typically have fixed prices, and bargaining is inappropriate. Many goods, including prepackaged foods, spices and cosmetics, have a fixed maximum retail price (MRP) printed on the manufacturer’s label, which usually translates to the selling price.

It's typically appropriate to bargain in small independent shops in busy market areas such as Chandni Chowk, unless the shopkeeper tells you that their shop is fixed price. This is particularly the case if you’re buying an expensive big-ticket item or are purchasing a larger quantity of a single item (for example, a dozen scarves). It’s best not to bother haggling for small purchases, such as a single ₹10 sticker.

Travel restrictions

India's Antiquities and Art Treasures Act of 1972 restricts the export of a wide range of antiques and antiquities, including artworks over 100 years old or manuscripts and documents that are over 75 years old. The idea behind the law is to keep objects of artistic, cultural and/or scientific importance in India, but it also applies to antiques that were brought into India from other countries, notably Tibet. While many of the pieces you’ll see in Delhi markets are replicas, you may wish to avoid buying anything that even appears older than a century.