Nepal has an abundance of street vendors and specialty stores, selling almost everything and anything imaginable. There are big bargains available for those willing to avoid fakes and badly made souvenirs and gifts.

Some very popular buys include goods such as, knitted mittens and socks, topis (caps), Tibetan dresses, multicolored jackets and shirts and pashmina (fine goat's-wool blankets), khukri knifes (the national knife), saranghi (a small, four-stringed viola played with a horse-hair bow), Tibetan tea bowls, paper mashe masks, Buddhist statues, bamboo flutes and many other folks goods.

If you are in the market for a nice gift or souvenir, then a Khukuri knife is a very good choice, and you wont even have to go far to get one, street vendors and almost all shops sell them wherever there are tourists. In fact there is a whole shop devoted to them. Some other nice gifts include bamboo flutes and many different Tibetan-style curios.

The shopping hours of most of the shops in Nepal are usually Sundays- Fridays from 10:00am to Fridays 20:00pm although some shops are also open on Saturdays and holidays.

Note that all foreign visitors other than Indian nationals are required to pay their trekking permits, hotel bills and airline tickets in foreign currency. Also note that it is illegal to exchange currency with people other than authorized dealers in foreign exchange. All visitors should get hold of Foreign Exchange Encashment Receipts when changing currency and they should keep them, as they may help in many transactions such as getting a visa extension or a trekking permit.

Credit and debit cards such as American Express, MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted at almost all shops, hotels, restaurants and agencies.