What to Buy in Nepal: A Guide to Crafts, Quality and Fair Prices

Nepal's craft traditions are old, varied and still very much alive. The streets of Thamel and the squares of Patan and Bhaktapur are lined with things to buy, ranging from superb handwork to mass-produced imitations. Knowing a little about each helps you bring home something worth keeping and pay the right person a fair price for it.

Metal statues

The casting of bronze and copper deities by the lost-wax method is the great art of Patan, practised by the same Newar families for many centuries. A wax model is coated in clay, the wax is melted out, molten metal is poured in, and the rough casting is then chased, polished and sometimes gilded by hand.

Judging quality: look at the face and hands. Fine pieces have crisp, serene features and delicately modelled fingers. Cheap ones are blurred.

Where to buy: workshops and showrooms in the lanes north of Patan Durbar Square, where you can often see work in progress.

Thangka paintings

These are Buddhist scroll paintings on cotton, depicting deities, mandalas and the wheel of life according to strict rules of proportion.

Judging quality: fineness of line, especially in faces and tiny details; evenness of colour; and the use of mineral pigments and real gold. A master's work takes months and is priced accordingly. Student pieces are much cheaper and can still be attractive.

Where to buy: painting schools and galleries in Bhaktapur, Patan and around Boudhanath, where painters work on the premises. Ask who painted it and how long it took.

Singing bowls

Metal bowls that ring when struck or rubbed around the rim with a wooden stick.

Judging quality: hand-hammered bowls show small hammer marks and have a rich, long-lasting tone with several overtones. Machine-made bowls are smooth, shiny and thinner in sound. Play several before choosing; buy the one whose sound you like.

Be sceptical of claims about seven sacred metals, great age or healing powers. Most bowls on sale are recently made from bronze.

Pashmina and wool

True pashmina is the fine undercoat of Himalayan mountain goats, spun and woven into very soft, warm shawls.

Judging quality: genuine pashmina is light, warm to the touch, slightly matte and not cheap. Many "pashminas" sold in tourist markets are viscose or acrylic blends. A registered trademark label for Nepali pashmina indicates tested fibre. Reputable shops state the percentage of pashmina and silk honestly.

Also look for: yak-wool blankets, felted goods and hand-knitted hats, gloves and socks.

Handmade paper

Lokta paper is made from the bark of a high-altitude shrub that regrows after cutting. It is strong, textured and resistant to insects, and was traditionally used for official documents. Notebooks, cards, lampshades and block-printed wrapping paper are light, inexpensive and easy to pack.

Textiles

• Dhaka cloth: hand-woven patterned cotton from the hill towns of the west and east, made into caps, shawls and bags.

• Hemp and nettle fabric: coarse, durable cloth woven from wild plants, used for bags and clothing.

• Mithila-style printed and painted textiles from the south-east.

• Tibetan carpets: hand-knotted wool rugs produced in workshops in Patan and around the valley. Ask about child-labour-free certification.

Khukuri knives

The curved knife of the Gurkha soldier is sold in every size. Blades must travel in checked luggage, and some countries restrict their import.

Where to shop

• Workshops and artisan neighbourhoods for the best quality and the chance to meet the maker.

• Fair-trade shops, several of them clustered along the road between Kathmandu and Patan, which sell at fixed prices and return more to producers, many of them women's cooperatives.

• Tourist districts for convenience and choice, with more bargaining and more variation in quality.

Bargaining

Expected in markets and souvenir shops, not in fixed-price stores. Compare prices in two or three places, offer a reasonable figure and stay good-natured. For expensive items such as thangkas and statues, take your time, ask questions and come back the next day.

What you cannot take home

• Antiques. Exporting objects over a hundred years old is illegal. Items that look old may need a certificate from the Department of Archaeology; good dealers arrange this.

• Wildlife products, including furs, ivory, certain shells and the ultra-fine wool known as shahtoosh, from an endangered antelope.

• Sacred objects that appear to have come from a temple.

The best souvenir

Whatever you buy, try to buy it from the person who made it. The object will mean more, and so will the money.