Bhutan- a wonderful experience
Bhutan is a unique country both culturally and environmentally. The average elevation of Bhutan is 8,000 feet above the sea level rich in monasteries and temples.
Bhutan Shopping
With many historic places in Bhutan, it is also a destined place for shoppers. Moreover, shopping in Bhutan is very region oriented and centric. You may not find much authentic traditional stuff anywhere else. Bhutan is the most famous place for handmade crafts. The handicrafts give a direct indication of their dedication and hard work of the artisans and reflect the culture and tradition of Bhutan. The three famous shopping destinations are Thimphu, Paro, and Phuentsholing. To travel from one place to another you need to take the best Bhutan taxi service to make your shopping a memorable one.
1. Thimphu :
Enriched with many beautiful monasteries, temples and rich cultural heritage, Thimphu is one of the most famous shopping destinations in Bhutan. This place has a rich variety of local handicrafts, wooden masks, handmade paper, jackets, hand-woven bags and many more.
Here are a few shops to give you a good shopping experience at Thimphu.
Bhutanese Handicrafts: The experience of shopping in Bhutan is never complete without exploring the beautiful handicrafts made by the locals. The locals of Bhutan have developed the art of making handmade items perfectly. There are many local handicrafts like wooden masks, jackets, containers, traditional dresses, hand woven scarves, paintings, bags, etc.
Places to buy handicrafts are:
Lungta Handicrafts
Address: Chang Lam, Thimphu, Bhutan
Hand woven textiles: Bhutanese textiles are made mainly with silk and raw cotton. Bhutanese hand-woven textiles are a true representation of Bhutan. So, it might give you the choice of picking some of the hand-woven textiles in Bhutan and this will help you in taking a piece of their culture and history.
Note: When you are visiting Bhutan and planning to explore the textile shops it is a must to hire a trusted and an experienced local guide who will give you an overview of the different types of textile in detail.
The place to buy Bhutanese textile:
Norzin Lam Craft Stalls:
Address: Thimphu, Bhutan opposite Taj Tashi Hotel.
Gold and Silver Jewellery:
Bhutanese women love wearing jewellery. In Bhutan, jewelleries are made using Gold, Silver, Bronze and precious stones. The local people are skilled in making ornaments and jewellery.
The best place to buy gold and silver jewellery:
Druk Jewellery
Address: Traffic Square, Thimphu, Bhutan
Cane and Bamboo Products:
In Bhutan, most of the households use bamboo, cane, and wooden products. These include wooden baskets, bamboo floor mats, bows and arrows, bamboo baskets, and many more.
The place to buy wooden, bamboo and cane products:
Handicrafts Market:
Address: Trashi Yangtse, Bhutan
Buddhist Painting and Sculpture:
Buddhism is the primary religion of Bhutan. Hence, Bhutan is very famous for Buddhist paintings and culture. The paintings and crafts are beautifully mastered by the local artists. People from all over the world come to get a look at these paintings and buy them to decorate their houses.
The place to buy paintings and sculptures:
Handicrafts Association of Bhutan
Address: Cham Lam Rd, Thimphu, Bhutan
Postal stamps: Yes, you read it right. Postal stamps may sound like an odd thing to you. Without collecting few of them won’t make your visit to Bhutan complete. Some of the shops have beautiful collection of stamps with designs and vibrant colours giving a different meaning.
The place to buy postal stamps:
Philatelic Bureau (Bhutan Post Office Headquarters)
Address: PO building, Chang Lam, Thimphu, Bhutan
2. Paro :
Paro is a historic town with many sacred sites and rich cultural heritage. It has many monasteries and temples which gives you an ancient feeling in this town.
The distance between Thimphu and Paro:
Visiting Paro within the same day will be a bit difficult if you do not have any proper means of transport. So, taxi booking in Bhutan beforehand is a must. There are many trusted service providers like AV Tours who offers cars on rent at affordable rates. It will drop you within 1 hour 17 min covering a distance of 50.4 km via Phuentsholing. You can also choose taxi services in Bhutan offered by AV Tours for a smooth and comfortable journey.
Shopping places in Paro: Shopping in Paro gives you an insight into all the traditional handicrafts, masks and paintings and many more things to buy and collect good memories.Kiras- the traditional dress of Bhutan people
Kiras are beautiful traditional dresses worn by men and women of Bhutan. The local markets are famous for these dresses. The local people are handy in making hand-woven Kiras and you cannot resist yourself from wearing it.
The place to buy Kiras:
The Weekend Market:
Address: Main Street, Paro, Bhutan
Souvenirs : There are many souvenir and stamp shops to visit. You will get to see many shapes and sizes of stamps which will force you to collect them as a memory of this place.
The place to buy souvenir and stamps
Lama Tshering Dorji General Shop
Address: Tashigang, Paro, Bhutan
3. Phuentsholing :
Phuentsholing is the entry point to Bhutan for every traveller coming from Siliguri or Kolkata. It is a town which has high importance in the field of commerce and functions as a business town for Bhutanese and Indians. The architecture of this town is modern and there are not much monasteries and temples.
The distance between Paro and Phuentsholing:
The distance between Paro and Phuentsholing is approximately 160 km and takes almost 4 hours and 10 minutes to arrive by road via Phuentsholing –Thimpu highway. Travel agencies like AV Tours offers reasonable taxi fare in Bhutan for travelling one place to another.
Shopping places in Phuentsholing: Phuentsholing is a commercial hub where people from India come for trading in Bhutan. But if you get a chance to visit the local markets in town you will be amazed to see the usual stuff you buy in India. There is not much traditional stuff but, if you go back home without picking up souvenirs; handmade carpets and decorative items then it will be an incomplete experience for you. So, here are few places of shopping in Phuentsholing for you.
Handmade carpets: If you are fond of buying handmade beautiful carpets then you are definitely in the right place. It will give you an overall experience of the various types of handmade carpets. They sell carpets at affordable rates which will be easy for you to buy.
The place to buy carpets:
Tashi Industries Carpet Factory
Address: Jorden Lam, Phuentsholing, Bhutan
Handmade clothes:You will get various types of handmade clothes in this town. The local people make it with different types of designs and fabrics on it which looks colourful and each design depicts different styles and meaning.
The place to buy clothes:
Bhimraj Stores
Address: Shop No. 9/GF-01, Thaprai Lam, Phuentsholing, Bhutan
Grab the opportunity of visiting the wonderful Bhutan
Bhutan is blessed with sightseeing of many wonderful locations which must be visited at least once in a lifetime. The pleasant weather, hospitable and warm people and authentic finger-licking food of Bhutan is sure to make their place to your good books. The above mentioned places are the most promising shopping destinations in Bhutan which gives you the opportunity to decorate your home with the beautiful handmade and traditional kind of stuff.
Pay a visit to Bhutan and return with lots of unforgettable memories.