unlike shopping done in other parts of the world, shopping options in bhutan are very limited. it mainly revolves around traditional arts and crafts, textile products, spiritual or religious symbols, postal stamps and so on. the best places to shop in bhutan are thimphu, paro and phuentsholing. while in bhutan, do not expect throw away deals in shopping. please remember that do not antiques inn bhutan as you would not be allowed to take it out of country. purchasing of antiques in bhutan is strictly prohibited. brief description of traditional items that can be purchased are given below::

• traditional arts & handicrafts – handicrafts in bhutan depicts the identity of the country along with its unique craftsmanship. their durability coupled with unique design and beauty has won many admiration in many countries. in bhutan handicrafts can be divided into 13 broad categories. amongst the 13 categories, the most common items to be purchased are wooden bowls & cups, cane and bamboo products, hand woven fabrics, bags, thangkas, masks, jewellery, silver and bronze items and so on.
  • thagzo – weaving of textiles practised by women of eastern bhutan i.e. hand woven textiles
  • tshazo – weaving of cane and bamboo products practised throughout the country
  • shagzo – art of wood turning practised by people of eastern bhutan like wooden cups and hand made wooden bowls (dappas)
  • lhazo – paintings like thangkas and scroll
  • shingzo – carpentry or woodwork like wooden masks
  • dozo – stoneworks used in construction of chortens, dzongs etc
  • parzo – carvings in stone wood and slate
  • jimzo – clay work or crafts like statue of deities
  • lugzo – bronze casting like cups etc
  • garzo – blacksmithing or art of iron work used in building of suspension bridges
  • troeko – crafts of making traditional ornaments using precious stones like gold and silver like gold & silver jewellery
  • dezo – art of making paper found like bhutanese hand made paper
  • tshemzo – art of tailoring and embroidery like gho and kira
• spiritual & religious symbols – amongst the various religious symbols that can be purchased in bhutan, some of the most common ones amulets, prayer flags, small prayer wheels, necklaces made of beads, butter lamps, miniature statues of deities and so on.
• grocery – two of the most common items which are on buying list of lot of people are bumthang honey, jams, yak cheese and chilli dalle.

the most common places to shop in bhutan are crafts stalls lined up in norzin lam above taj tashi hotel which sells everything from embroided bags to hand made papers, thimphu’s main post office for your own personalised stamps with your photo, lama tshering dorji general shop in paro which sells amulets, prayer flags and so on, handicraft market in thimphu which would satisfy for needs for most of local handicrafts, government run national handicrafts emporium and so on.