Truffle hunting season set to start in Meteora

The truffle hunting season in Meteora is set to begin in the first half of March and will run until the end of October.

A truffle dog will search for the rare underground mushrooms.

Once the truffles have been found the organiser, the Meteora Museum of Natural History and Mushroom Museum, will hand them over to chefs who will make a truffle pasta to be enjoyed by all participants in a forest picnic.

Afterward, visitors will be given a tour of the Meteora Museum of Natural History and Mushroom Museum which showcases a collection of 350 different species of animals and 250 different mushrooms.

They will also participate in a mushroom tasting, after which they can buy any of 60 different kinds of mushroom products created by the Museum.

The Museum's director, Nikos Pallas, told Athens-Macedonian News Agency, "It is an original and unique action in Greece and at European level.

"It is no coincidence that participants of the hunt express their enthusiasm over the experience we offered them".

Pallas said that the event also meets the Museum's objectives to make the public aware of the very high nutritional qualities of mushrooms and also to help raise tourism to the area, contributing to its growth.

Participants are also provided with information about this special fungi.

They learn about the kind of truffles that exist and how they can be used.

In this way, they enrich their knowledge about the truffle, also known as the “black diamond” that is “hiding” in the ground.

The area of Meteora is a suitable place for truffle hunting development and wild truffle can be found in the region.

The hunting grounds are also an easily accessible place that can be comfortably reached by bus.

The goal of the event is to mark the region as a truffle hunting area in Greece and guests can also experience an alternative activities in the region such as a visit to the Monasteries and other sightseeing.

Meteora features in CNN’s list of top 21 destinations for 2021