Best Shopping in Nepal

Here is a list of places to help you experience the best shopping in Nepal so as to buy some of the best souvenirs back home.

1. Handicraft items

Nepal has one of the best handicraft scenes in Asia. The creations have a distinct influence on Tibetan culture, which cannot be denied. Wood is a popular material used in Nepalese handicrafts. One can see how the old Newari culture preferred wood in the various durbar squares of the country. One can buy wooden showpieces, small furniture items, cane baskets, replicas of temples and deities from Nepali markets.

2. Pashmina Wool

High quality wool from Nepal is used in the warm garments sold in Nepal. Pashmina is native to Nepal and made from fibre right off the skin of mountain goats and spun into delicate weaves. Pick your favourite winter-wear from the emporiums – jacket, cardigan, gloves, sweater, socks – and you will get the smooth warm touch of real pashmina wool.

3. Silverwares and gem jewellery

Silver jewellery and other items like utensils, cutlery, boxes and talismans, are an important part of Nepalese art and craft. One can find silver earrings, bangles, necklaces or finger rings of the best quality, often with stones of solid colours, which is a Tibetan touch. A mixture of Newari and Tibetan style in the silver pieces has made them quite at vogue. Nepal is also known for gem jewellery items.

4. Mithila Painting

It is a common local tradition for women to paint scenes involving animals, trees and everyday life on the walls of their homes with very bright colours. It has now become a native art and recreated on paper for the tourists to buy and take home. One can find the design on t-shirts, caps, bed sheets and ceramics as well. Mithila painting style is one of the traditional Nepali gifts that people take back home from the country.

5. Block printing

Block printing is a very famous style of garments, which can be bought here at low prices. Wooden blocks are carved into different patterns, and then they are used to print the similar designs on the textile with the help of colours. This style of printing on textiles is a very unique and creative and one should definitely look for it during clothes shopping in Kathmandu. In Nepal, one can find them not only on garments but stationeries, handmade papers, upholsteries, and tablecloths as well.

6. Thangkas and Paubhas

Thangkas are the rectangular or square pieces of cloth made of cotton or silk, hand-woven or painted on with pictures related to Tibetan Buddhism. It can be the deity of Avalokiteshvara Buddha or a scene from Buddhist stories or a simple mandala. They are very popular items for Nepali shopping and are available at very affordable prices. Paubhas are the same things, but done on script paper instead of cloth.

7. Handmade paper

Although it does not sound like something interesting to buy, be assured it is. Traditional Nepalese handmade paper, or as they call it, the rice paper is made of the bark of Lokta tree found in remote areas of Nepal. Notebooks and diaries made from this paper can be a really cool gift from Nepal.