Nepal is an exciting place for shopping – particularly in Kathmandu.
Nepal presents an exciting shopping opportunity for all those who love shopping!
Kathmandu, in particular has an excellent array and variety of shops offering almost everything from traditional Nepalese arts and crafts, handmade clothes, pashminas, pottery, jewellery and antiques. However, please note that if you are buying antiques in Nepal, you need to get special permission from the Department of Archaeology to take the antiques out of the country. Customs in Nepal are extremely thorough when it comes to inspecting the baggage of those leaving the country. For this reason, it is essential that you get receipts for any items when shopping which appear to be antique. Ensure not to buy anything when you are shopping which looks as though it is a black market antiquity as this could put you in a very difficult position if you are caught with the item in your baggage.
Carpets are big business in Nepal and carpet weaving is a traditional and beautiful art in this country. Bear in mind, when shopping for carpets in Nepal, that a traditional carpet is approximately 100 cm by 180 cm. They are usually died with vegetable dyes in pastel shades and depict dragon and Tibetan Buddhist symbols. A great place for carpet shopping is Jawlakhel, Patan.
For pottery, try Bhaktapur which is host to one of Nepal’s most famous pottery market. When shopping here, you will see thousands of pottery pieces in neat lines. You will also be able to watch the potters at work as they sit in areas to the side of the market to work.
If you are shopping for jewellery, then Kathmandu is a good place to start. It is possible across most of the jewellery makers in Nepal to ask for particular designs to be made for you – and the costs are extremely reasonable.
Please note when shopping that most sellers will expect you to bargain with them. However, there are more and more shops popping up in Nepal which are targeted specifically at tourists which means that many of the prices are now being fixed.
You should also note when shopping Nepal that you should avoid eye contact with a seller unless you wish to buy something from them.
