The Royal Textile Academy on Chhogyal Lam houses Bhutan's most comprehensive collection of traditional woven fabrics. The galleries display silk and cotton textiles from different regions of the country, each with distinct patterns and weaving techniques. Demonstrations by weavers working on traditional backstrap looms run most mornings. There is also a well-stocked shop selling genuinely high-quality Bhutanese textiles — more reliable and better priced than many tourist shops. Open Monday to Saturday.
National Textile Museum
Bhutan's finest collection of traditional woven textiles
A story
Bhutanese textiles are among the most technically complex woven fabrics in Asia — some of the finest silk kishuthara patterns require a skilled weaver months to complete a single piece. The Royal Textile Academy was established in 2008 specifically to document and preserve these traditions as modernisation threatened to push them aside.