Shopping in Pakistan is interesting and quite unique. Well-known for exquisite handicrafts, Pakistan is home to gorgeous hand-woven carpets, marble pieces, copper and brassware, woodwork, and embroidered kurtas and khussas. Among your list of souvenir shopping in Pakistan, you could include silver trinkets, camel-skin lamps, bamboo craft, cane and wicker work, conch-shell art, glass bangles, hand-embroidered shawls, rugs, carpets, silks, and cashmere shawls. In the following sections, we have attempted to give you a brief synopsis of Pakistan's Shopping Guide.

Souvenir shopping in Pakistan offers silver trinkets, camel-skin lamps, bamboo craft, cane and wicker work, conch-shell art, glass bangles, hand-embroidered shawls, rugs, carpets, silks, and cashmere shawls.

You will be sure to pick up some great local souvenirs during your shopping escapades in Pakistan. Read on and we will tell you all you need to know to get the best deals and best places to shop in Pakistan. If you get hungry during your shopping spree, stop for some finger food or relax in one of the Pakistan Restaurants along the busy shopping streets. For some local tips, and some suggested places to shop, check out our Islamabad Shopping Guide.

Pakistan Shopping Guide

Traditional shopping items in Pakistan

Pottery is a traditional craft that has become an art form, originating around 3,000 BC. Nowadays there are numerous special jars and jugs, in assorted colours and makes, which are claimed by various regions throughout Pakistan

Karachi Shopping

Pakistan is also well known for its busy bazaars, selling everything from gold and silver jewellery, glass bracelets, to silk and brocade hand embroidered shawls. One of the biggest exporters of hand woven carpets, tourists can get good value for money here. In Karachi, the central shopping area is Saddar, which is spread for about a kilometre around and between Abdullah Haroon road and Zaib-un-Nisa Street. It is fun to spend a few hours wandering through alleyways, where Victorian brick architecture rub shoulders with modern concrete. The bazaars and shopping streets here are lively and noisy, with a great variety of shops in a succession of different specialised bazaars.

Zainab Market has dozens of shops selling new copper and brass, onyx, inlaid woodwork, lacquer work, hand block printed cloth and appliqua bedspreads. Bohri Bazaar is a whole new 'cloth' world in itself, with narrow alleys housing shops that trade in cloth and other fabric accessories. The Empress Market, which was opened in 1889, also houses hundreds of shops and stalls. It is a Victorian structure with a clock tower that stands 50 metres tall.

Lahore Shopping

While in Lahore head to Anarkali Bazaar, which is also a good market that houses special crafts such as jewellery and handicrafts. There are newer markets along residential suburbs and areas like Gulberg. Other Shopping areas in Lahore include the Sarafa Bazaar, Copper and Brass Bazaar, Kashmiri Bazaar and Liberty Market.

Islamabad Shopping

Islamabad also has excellent market places such as the Aabpaara Market, Covered Market and Jinnah Super Market. Rawalpindi, about 12 Kms from Islamabad, offers tourists interesting Oriental bazaars. While in the city of Multan, the mangoes of Shujabad district are a must try! Apart from this, Multani khussa (shoes), embroidered kurtas for ladies, embroidered cholas for men, earthenware, pottery, camel skin ware, carpets and wooden products are great buys for tourists who are shopping in Pakistan.