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Unearth the fine fungi of Castile and León

If mushrooms and truffles tickle your taste buds, head to Spain’s largest region to discover its earthy culinary delights

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Words by Isabelle Kliger

Heard of mycology tourism? No? You’re not alone. But as we seek more sustainable ways to see the world, including travelling off season and minimising negative impacts on the planet and local communities, the time is ripe to start planning your first mushroom-foraging trip.

Mycology tourism offers an unbeatable combination of culture, fresh air, nature immersion and local gastronomy. Put simply, it is travel dedicated to searching for and collecting wild edible mushrooms – then, ideally, savouring them in a delicious meal.

When undertaken responsibly, preferably guided by an experienced forager, picking wild mushrooms has been shown to support biodiversity in forests and promote the growth of a variety of plants and fungi.

Photo by  Manuel Torres Garcia

Mycology tourism

When undertaken responsibly, preferably guided by an experienced forager, picking wild mushrooms has been shown to support biodiversity in forests and promote the growth of a variety of plants and fungi.

 

Eating mushrooms is good for you, too. Edible fungi are low in calories, boost the immune system, contain anti-inflammatory compounds and are packed with vitamins and minerals such as selenium, zinc and vitamin B6.

Castile and León, north-west of Madrid, boasts the largest expanse of forest cover of any region in the country. It’s home to about 5 million hectares of forest, within which some 2,700 species of wild mushroom grow; of these, about 50 are sold commercially. The region also boasts large areas of planted black truffles.

 

A more recent addition to the mycology ecosystem is the first-ever Castile and León black truffle market, which is held on Thursdays in Soria – where some of the world’s most sought after black truffles grow. The market is creating plenty of buzz during truffle season, and generating considerable economic benefit for local growers.

Many wild mushrooms can be picked almost all year round, but autumn – the months of October and November, in particular – are when most foragers can be spotted filling their baskets to the brim with local varieties such as chanterelles and oyster mushrooms.

 

A top spot for mushroom-hunters is Las Quilamas nature area in the Sierra de Francia mountain range south of Salamanca, its dense pine forests studded with chanterelles. Vibrant yellow in colour, these small but tasty specimens are even more prevalent further north. In the towns of Viana de Cega and Boecillo, near Valladolid, you can attend the annual Festival of Exaltation of the Chanterelle; activities include cooking workshops and mushroom-picking outings with professional foragers.

For two weeks from late October into early November, many restaurants across Castile and León participate in the Buscasetas (mushroom-hunting) Gastro-Mycological Days event. These venues develop individual tapas and full menus based on locally foraged mushrooms. Clearly, mycology tourism is not just good for you and the planet – your taste buds will thank you, too.

Need to know

Getting there

Direct trains and buses take under three hours to reach Soria from Madrid.

Pratical information

A permit is required to pick mushrooms in Spain, so make sure to do your research. The Montes de Soria Association is a non-profit body dedicated to the management of nearly 164,000 hectares of mushroom-producing forests in the northern provinces of Soria and Burgos.

 

On its excellent website, which features an English-language translation, you can apply for your permit online as well as finding maps and information about local mycology events and activities.

Women standing on a rock looking at the castle with her arms out

Glossary

The quality of being able to continue over a period of time, or the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance (Camrbdige Dictionary).

This refers to ‘the variability of living organisms, between and within species, and the changeability of the ecosystems to which they belong’ (The Convention on Biological Diversity).
According to the Responsible Tourism Partnership, ‘Responsible Tourism requires that operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists take responsibility, and take action to make tourism more sustainable. Behaviour can be more or less responsible, and what is responsible in a particular place depends on environment and culture’. The concept was defined in Cape Town in 2002 alongside the World Summit on Sustainable Development.
The process of protecting an environment and returning it to its natural state; for example, bringing back wild animals that used to live there (Cambridge Dictionary).
A movement reducing the distance between producers and sales and consumer establishments to a radius of under 100 kilometres, with the aim of minimising the effects that large-scale industry have on the planet, including soil erosion, water pollution, and habitat loss for wild species.
Being ‘green’ is used to describe actions or initiatives that are conducted in a sustainable way, in an attempt to reduce impact on planetary resource limits. However, the word can be used to describe actions or initiatives that do not actively do this, but rather convey an ethos of being planet-friendly; eg being outside, walking or riding a bike. This can be considered ‘greenwashing’ (when an individual or company paints an action as credibly sustainable when, in fact, it is an action that beenfits them, or that should be considered the bare minimum).