Shopping in Darjeeling

Sightseeing in Darjeeling introduces you to a selection of places for a fulfilling shopping experience in Darjeeling.

Whether you just want a pleasant day out with your friends and family while enjoying beautiful sights of Darjeeling, you can also roam around different shopping points where you can have great fun or can also buy reasonable things according to your budget.

Speaking about the local handicrafts and the famous specialties, this guide will interest tourists who can buy and collect memorabilia from their trip as souvenirs. Also, including market information, this guide is an indispensable resource for any tourist looking to take home something original or unique.

It is an ideal gateway for people looking to be in tune with nature, nestled among the undulating slopes with the gleaming Mt Kanchenjunga towering above the azure sky. This is the home of the muscatel-flavored Darjeeling tea, which is highly regarded by tea enthusiasts all over the world.

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Shopping in Darjeeling

Darjeeling is not just about tea but there are several other things that can be found here which attracts one’s attention and has made this place a must visit where tourists can relax and enjoy themselves.

Which means, Darjeeling could be a shopper’s paradise for locally handmade items including the Tibetan masks, cloth paintings reflecting ethnic Bhutia faces, local jewelry items including brooches and pendants with carved-in gems, many types of curios, traditional boots, Khukri (curved Gorkha knives with decorative handles), woolen items including shawls & pashminas, jumpers, scarves, caps, leather items, and lot more.

Though, don’t expect branded shoes or bags, you can find many different types of traditional/hand-woven fabrics here in Darjeeling. Which means, you could buy some items made in Nepal also. You will discover a whole new way of shopping at this place. There are several semi-wholesale shops bazaar of all sorts in town. These include a range of super markets and shops where you can find all the unusual or hard to get things, like hand made paper and incense sticks, Darjeeling tea, Tibetan jewelry and crafts etc.

Here is a list of best places to shop for all these handmade items in Darjeeling:

Shopping in Darjeeling Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center:

Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center is a top Kharga Para attraction that encapsulates the culture of Tibet. Managed and operated by Tibetan refugees, the center has a famous Tibetan tea house, Tibetan handicrafts and souvenir shop, as well as an organic cafe specializing in organic coffee and local dishes. A visit to the center is a must for every tourist who wants to take back home with them a piece of Tibet. Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center is the largest handicrafts center in India, where Tibetan refugees themselves make traditional wool carpets and other merchandise. The shop is very popular with travelers who come here to purchase very authentic Tibetan crafts.

There is an onsite store selling beautiful hand-loomed carpets, shawls and other handcrafted items. The center also has a carpentry workshop where skilled Tibetan artisans produce traditional Buddhist furniture, cabinets and doors.

Here, you’ll find a gift shop overflowing with handmade Tibetan crafts and a small café that serves delicious momos (Tibetan dumplings). Visit Tibetan handicrafts outlet, where sale proceeds support the Center, operated by Tibetan refugees since 1959. It’s a one-stop shop for woolen carpets and blankets, prayer wheels and incense offering bowls.

An explorational expedition to one of the world’s most ancient civilizations. Explore the mystery and brevity of Tibet!

Shopping in Darjeeling Singalila Handicrafts Society

Singalila Handicrafts Society is an integral part of Singalila School. The society produces high quality handicrafts products from local materials and distributes them to different parts of the country through a network of self help groups. Whether it’s your first visit or your tenth, we’d love you to join us for a day out on the mountain – walking, trekking, climbing or birdwatching.

As a result, you can learn how to live more sustainably, more locally and how to travel with minimal impact on the environment in Singalila Handicrafts Society. Within their pages you’ll find practical advice on how to better travel, as well as a global directory of eco/responsible resources so you can make more sustainable choices. It’s a great resource for responsible travelers looking to get off the beaten path.

The organization has been promoting handicraft of the area since 45 years now and the organization encourages artists and artisans of lower strata of the society, who are often deprived of basic necessities in life.

SHS craftsman have been making and selling handmade crafts, such as:

• Tibetan musical instruments,
• Tibetan jewelry, mala or
• the Buddhist prayer beads and
• various kinds of hand-made bags for tourists for decades.

Also. the SHS is one of the few selected workshops in Dali providing instruction on how to craft some of these local delicacies.

Local culture

To celebrate the change of seasons traditional folk dances, songs and rituals are performed here. While most of the dances are done in a circular form and emphasize symmetry and poise, grace and elegance from dancers as they perform. Also, the movements are measured and careful. The songs that accompany the dancers combine both religious and secular texts. In some songs, particularly those about Krishna’s love for Radha or his horrid feats of bravery, the singers act out their meaning with gestures or even mime. Shruti Natok is a mixture of Devdasi dance and Vaishnav bhajan. Variations of this dance include mask dances with cow masks, in which villagers appear in a procession dancing to drums made from pumpkins.

Shopping in Darjeeling Goodwill Handloom Industries

Goodwill Handloom Industries have been making some finest cashmere stoles, shawls and mufflers. Their specialty is the 100% cashmere but they make silk, acrylic and woolen products as well. Handlooms are used to beautifully woven most of the stoles. Their in-house designers have designed every piece exquisitely. They provide a wide range of collection from ethnic styles to modern designs. Which means, they also provide customers with both old- and new-style handloom handicrafts. The trust of customers is their greatest asset. Their first store was established in Darjeeling, but now it has many branches all over the country, still working for the satisfaction of our customers.

Goodwill Handloom Industries was established in 1984. The aim has been to help the rural villagers of Nepal and India to earn their livelihood by making handicrafts. It has a wide range of products like:

• bed-covers,
• stoles,
• shawls and
• carpets

Made from pashmina and silk.

Also, a variety of coats, jackets, snowsuits, pants, t-shirts and gloves made from cashmere. Besides, they are also exporters of silk carpets and carpets woven on handlooms with intricate designs depicting religious motifs and emblems.

Assisted by the Natural Fibre Industry and the National Coordination Committee, a local cooperative of women weavers gather to create handloom products using 10-15 mm cotton yarn. These small pieces of art are made for the benefit of national women’s empowerment. Inspired by their skills, we use these artworks as designs in our clothing items. Originally the trading centre of the Tibetan Newar community, today’s Darjeeling is a shopper’s paradise.

You can buy anything from

• Tibetan-style carpets and

• jewellery to cotton or

• wool clothing

• Sarees,

• Dresses,

• Silk Wraps,

• Scarves,

• Handbags and more.

at the many shops and street markets in town.

Tenzing Momo’s Emporium

From the beginning of your time in Darjeeling, you can’t miss Tenzing Momo’s Emporium. You can stop in at the bustling bazaar and pick up some local hand-crafted home decor or cotton clothing items. Darjeeling’s most famous emporium, Tenzing Momo’s Emporium offers a wide range of alpine items, including musical instruments and teashop paraphernalia. At the entrance, you’ll find a vast display of antique and modern mugs, cups and steins. All of them featuring Himalayan scenery and imagery. Step into the main showroom, which is chock-full of all manner of Tibetan wares:

• brass butter churns,
• drums,
• singing bowls and
• prayer wheels;
• yak horns;
• kukri knives;
• pipes for smoking hashish or tobacco;
• herbal medicines and incense.

There are wall hangings, scarves and carpets too.

 Infamous Tibetan incense master Tsering Choedron makes her own here: all 20 varieties can be sampled at the store.

The small jewel-box shop, Tenzing Momo’s Emporium in Darjeeling had been a family business for generations. For a shopping experience that feels like a storytelling adventure, head to Tenzing Momo’s Emporium in Darjeeling. Here, the owner (man by day, tiger by night) has spent decades building contacts with local craftspeople and creates handmade products based on this experience.

The result is :

• unique handcrafted brass teapots;
• luxury cup cozies;
• exotic wooden carvings;
• exquisite silk slip dresses;
• antique jewelry boxes; and
• exquisitely embroidered Tibetan carpets and clothing.

Tenzing and his wife Sona know that for a small business owner, creating the perfect shopping experience is as important as selling great merchandise. They’re doing both very well at their Tibetan/Himalayan gift shop in Darjeeling.

Shopping in Darjeeling Chowrasta Mall

Get the shopping experience you want at Chowrasta Mall in Darjeeling! It is one of the most prominent shopping centers of the town located right in the heart of the city. This mall comprises some of the finest gift shops, bookstores, and designer boutiques. Pamper yourself with a complete makeover by buying trendy apparels and cosmetic products. Which means, a visit to Chowrasta Mall is a must as it leaves you with lasting memories.

Whether you are looking for top of the line brands or a factory outlet type of experience, Chowrasta Mall features them all. The indoor shopping environment is perfect for those that do not wish to deal with the unpredictable weather. Chowrasta Mall is the closest thing you will get to a mall in Darjeeling… well actually it IS a mall. You can find everything from fruit stalls and bakeries, to shoe sellers and clothing shops. Locals from all over town come here to do their shopping. Typically, haggle with the vendors, buy groceries and mingle with friends.

Popularity and history

Chowrasta Mall, also known as Darjeeling Chowk Bazaar or The Mall, is a popular tourist destination, shopping centre and hangout in Darjeeling in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is famous for souvenirs like miniature models of Himalayan Railway which are exported to different parts of the world. Chowrasta Mall is a main market place and meeting place in Darjeeling. It is lined with shops, restaurants and cafes, with a Tibetan Culture & Handicrafts Centre at one end.

A small, Victorian-style indoor mall featuring more than 40 shops that sell fine silks and woolens, ethnic jewelry and musical instruments.

Modern Book Depot

Modern Book Depot in Darjeeling,Modern Book Depot provides the best and latest collection of books on any subject related education. Here, you can discover products on sale, deals and coupons at Modern Book Depot in Darjeeling. It has been earning its reputation for quality, service and support for customers in Darjeeling & Kalimpong regions since 1982.

Modern Book Depot is a publishing company that manages the nation’s leading book retail chain. They are the only authorized dealers of Oxford University Press, Macmillan Education India, Cambridge University Press, Penguin Books and Navyug Publishers.

Conclusion

Darjeeling’s location makes it a perfect place for tourists to visit because there are so many wonderful places to shop. With beautiful mountains surrounding it, lovely lakes around every corner and friendly locals to be found everywhere – it’s no wonder that Darjeeling is such a popular destination for people who love nature as well as those looking for something different from their normal day-to-day lives. Whether you want to shop for special items or just take a break and relax with some delicious food. Darjeeling has something for everyone.

Now you know shopping in the best places in Darjeeling is super fun! You should definitely do it when you come up here next. If you have any questions for me, leave them below! Thanks for reading my blog and have a wonderful day!

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