The 21 Best Nepal Souvenirs and Where to Buy Them, Kathmandu, Nepal

Recently, I’ve had a few friends ask me what to buy for Nepal souvenirs to take home with them. I feel like I’ve spent a lifetime in Thamel and Lakeside walking by the hundreds of shops selling goods. The thing is, so many sell the same thing, and they all sell them for different prices. It’s hard to know what’s authentic, what’s a knock-off, and what things are even worth buying. I believe in buying souvenirs right before going home so that you don’t have to carry everything around the entire trip. I’m also most familiar with the stores in Kathmandu since I’ve shopped in them multiple times to buy gifts or my own souvenirs. I decided to compile a list of my favorite Nepal souvenirs and the places to buy them.

Note: I haven’t purchased some of the items on this list before, so I won’t recommend a place to buy them. The items that I have purchased in the past, I spent a lot of time looking for good quality items at a decent price.

Thangka paintings make the top of my list because they’re hard to find almost anywhere else. In Nepal, they’re abundant and a lot less expensive. For instance, you can buy a $200 painting here, and the same one will be sold for about $500 online in the U.S. Picking a thangka can be hard, so I’d recommend reading my post on Understanding Thangka Paintings. The prices can range from $20 to $10,000, so it’s kind of hard to tell if you’re being ripped off or not. The price difference is based on how the item is produced since there are mass-produced versions versus original one of a kind pieces. I bought a mass-produced one. They fall in the $50-$100 price range. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).