Gift ideas Nepal

It's more a succession of stands on a tiny surface than a market (let's be clear!). An excellent place to find a more or less unusual or traditional memory. Think about trading.

This recently opened boutique stands out from the swarms of small shops on Lakeside because it doesn't sell counterfeit trekking clothes, singing bowls or yak wool scarves. Craft laya is a fair trade boutique offering only beautifully crafted objects made in Pokhara, by women in the surrounding community villages. True Fair Trade, highly recommended for good gift ideas (scarves, clutches, bags, etc.). They are surprisingly inexpensive for the quality on offer.

The elaborate facade, lined with green plants, makes you want to enter this pretty café. You can stop in for a cup of tea or an organic coffee from a local farm. A small shop selling woven cotton products and local crafts offers great gift ideas. We love the brightness of the place with bay windows, the Zen atmosphere and the delicious 100% vegetarian food, including light and tasty vegan cakes. The omnipresent plants on the shelves and throughout the space, combined with the wooden furniture, offer a soothing space.

This is a must-visit store in Patan, where you'll find handicrafts of the highest quality. And with good reason: ancestral techniques from the Himalayas for making products from natural and organic materials are showcased here, through a collection of objects. Carved wooden kitchen accessories, leather goods in local cotton and leather bags, basketry, handmade stationery... Some are made from wild Himalayan nettle fiber called Allo, spun entirely by hand for fabric.

Traditional Nepalese musical instruments are hard to find. In addition to the large Asan Tole market in Kathmandu, where you can find an area with craftsmen dedicated to the manufacture and repair of harmoniums, tablas and madals, there's this small specialized store in Patan where the people speak English, making it easier to find what you're looking for! You can even buy an ek tar, the highly decorative carved wooden instrument played by sadhus.

A small, friendly place where you can find quality singing bowls. Each bowl has a tone corresponding to a chakra (head, throat, belly, etc.), but also according to your astrology. Here, Bikash demonstrates the vibrations and "songs" of the bowls, which are handmade using an ancestral (and secret) alloy of 7 metals, known in the Himalayas. Some are more recent, others older (and more expensive). In singing bowl therapy and meditation, the 7 chakra tones resonate.

Singing/healing bowls are hard to choose. These Nepalese singing bowls, made from an undisclosed alloy of seven metals, are used to vibrate the body's seven chakras in Hindu religion and meditation practice. This boutique sells hand-made Nepalese products (nothing to do with the industrial bowls sold as souvenirs), some recent, others very old. The store also sells pashmina fabrics and jewelry in silver and local gemstones, Patan's specialty.

This alleyway is commercial and somewhat touristy. A particularity: almost all the shops are called Peacock (?). They offer many products and handicrafts: traditional handmade masks, Himalayan tea, thangkas and many other souvenirs. They are especially popular for their wood carvings, which are very well finished. But we also come here to have a good time of discovery. The sellers are, as expected, multilingual. Don't hesitate to haggle with a smile...

South of Thamel, the bazaar of Asan Tole is more a succession of stands than a market. You can find everything: fruits and vegetables, teas, meats, copper utensils, sculptures, singing bowls, jewellery, spices, trekking equipment... not always made in Tibet (check the provenance as much as possible and negotiate firmly!). We will come more for the rather unique atmosphere than to do business. A must-see walk that will often take you to hidden temples.

Here's a real concept store that has nothing to envy of the designer boutiques of Paris or New York, except that here the prices are more than affordable for a French wallet. It has a French name, which is so chic, but only sells beautifully crafted Nepalese products. Starting with magnificent ceramics from the factory in the pottery village of Thimi near Bhaktapur, and beautiful stationery and Woven kits in Nepalese cotton and buffalo leather. We warn you, we want to buy everything.

Only 5 minutes walk from the French Embassy (you have to go 50m past the Lazimpat Café Gallery), this fair trade shop produces, markets and exports Nepalese handicrafts. Each purchase from Mahaguthi directly helps those involved in the supply and production chain (most often women and workers from remote areas): 68% of sales go to the artisans of the products.