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…
Must-see shopping in Thimphu
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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…
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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…
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Thimphu
One of the best-stocked religious shops in Thimphu, selling everything from Buddhist scriptures and Buddha statues to kangling thigh-bone flutes.
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Thimphu
Across the Kundeyling Baazam cantilevered footbridge from the Weekend Market, this handicraft market on the east bank sells everything from wooden bowls…
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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…
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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 –…
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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…
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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 …
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Thimphu
A branch of Tarayana Rural Products, selling fairly priced arts and crafts to support rural development.
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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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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…
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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…
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Thimphu
You can purchase works by graduates of the National Institute for Zorig Chusum at this nearby shop, run by a former student.
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Thimphu
This tiny carpentry shop specialises in ornately carved and painted home altars, choektse tables and dhapa drums.
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Thimphu
This backstreet alley is the most central place in Thimphu to buy fresh fruit and vegetables.
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Thimphu
Religious shop specialising in monks' robes and other monastic paraphernalia.