Thimphu Weekend Market: Kaja Throm

Not every essential Bhutan experience involves a dzong or a mountain pass. Some of the best insight into everyday Bhutanese life comes from a much simpler place: a riverside market, busiest on weekends, where farmers from across the country sell what they’ve grown, dried, fermented, or foraged. Long known as the Centenary Farmers Market, it now goes by a new name — Kaja Throm — after a major renovation completed in 2024.

From Centenary Farmers Market to Kaja Throm

For decades, this market on the banks of the Wang Chhu river was simply the Centenary Farmers Market, Thimphu’s primary hub for fresh produce. In 2022, as renovation work began, vendors temporarily relocated to a riverside strip nicknamed the “Kaja Throm” (Dzongkha for “food market”). The renovation — a multi-year, government-backed project — was completed and the newly rebuilt market was formally inaugurated in July 2024 by Bhutan’s Prime Minister, with the name Kaja Throm carried over permanently for the whole complex.

The rebuilt market is considerably more polished than its predecessor, blending tradition with modern design to create a proper hub for culture and commerce. It now spans two floors with well over 400 stalls, dozens of dry-goods stores, cold storage facilities, a cluster of food stalls, and a dedicated dairy section, along with modern touches like accessible restrooms and proper waste management — a significant upgrade from the market’s original, more improvised layout.

What You’ll Find

Despite the new infrastructure, the spirit of the market hasn’t changed: it’s still where farmers from Paro, Haa, Wangdue, Phobjikha, Tsirang, Dagana, and even far-off Bumthang bring their harvest to sell directly to shoppers. Expect tables piled with seasonal vegetables, mountain herbs, and fruit, alongside Bhutanese staples like red rice, beaten rice, dried chilies, chili powder, and wild mushrooms foraged from the surrounding hills. Cheese, butter, and other dairy products sit alongside incense, prayer items, and the occasional stall of handwoven textiles or household goods.

It’s as much a social occasion as a shopping trip — elderly farmers who’ve traveled hours from remote villages, monks picking up ritual items, and Thimphu families doing their weekly shop all cross paths here, and vendors are generally happy to chat, even in fairly basic English.

Just across the market’s traditional covered cantilever bridge, a separate, less formal “Sunday Market” area sells clothing and household items — a good contrast to the produce side, and a small window into more everyday, contemporary Thimphu commerce.

Planning Your Visit

  • Getting there: Centrally located in Thimphu, an easy walk or short taxi ride from most hotels in the capital.
  • Best time to visit: The market runs Friday through Sunday evening, with Saturday and Sunday mornings typically liveliest; it gets more crowded toward the evening on weekends.
  • What to bring: Cash (small denominations help), and an appetite for sampling — vendors are often happy to let you try before you buy.
  • Combine it with: A short walk along the Wang Chhu riverside path, or pair it with other central Thimphu stops like the Clock Tower Square, since it sits easily within walking distance of the city center.

It’s not a monument or a monastery, but Kaja Throm might be the single best place in Bhutan to see the country’s agricultural backbone in motion — farmers, produce, and daily life, all in one riverside market.