Truffle & Mushroom Adventure

Follow us to a unique experience of gathering truffles & mushrooms, with the help of dogs.

Undoubtedly, the city of Grevena, also known as the land of mushrooms, is the mushroom-development model in the Balkans. Today more than 3,000 species have been recorded in Greece. Of these more than 2,500 species have been recorded in Grevena. Furthermore, approximately 100 of those do not exist in the rest of the Balkans. Two rare species found in Greece, the "Plectania megalocrater" was the only one recorded in Europe and the "Hebeloma hellenicum" was the only one recorded worldwide. The area that has the most mushroom commercial interest, is the area of Voio, the northern part of Grevena Prefecture. In addition, the largest mushroom variety is found in Orliakas and Valia Calda.

Some of those species are top tasting mushrooms for example, the "Amanita caesarea" was the favorite of the Roman emperors and the "Basilicas" (Boletus spp.) is what the Italians call porcini . An excellent delicacy are the underground mushrooms, the white and black truffle. They are detected by specially trained dogs. Another impressive mushroom specie is the "Clones" (Ramaria spp.) which looks like corals.

Even though there are many types of mushrooms, special attention is needed when separating the edible ones and the toxic ones.
Mushrooms are associated with the people's survival, their history, and their local tradition. They are found in the locals’ daily diet, in restaurant menus and on the shelves of many delicatessen all over Greece.

Cooking recipes, conservation techniques, folk names and beliefs about mushrooms are part of local history and folklore. The local cuisine include various delicious delights made with wild mushrooms. Small family businesses in the region, employing dozens of collectors and workers, that process, standardize and trade mushrooms and mushroom products, trying to meet an ever-increasing demand, inside Greece and abroad. Such products are Mushrooms in oil, Pickled mushrooms, Dried mushrooms, Truffles, Powdered mushroom, Mushroom soup, Mushroom preserves, Mushroom jam, Mushroom liqueur, Traditional pasta with mushrooms, Sesame with mushrooms... and of course mushroom sweets.

As mushrooms are a dominant symbol in the municipality, the Grevena cultural association has created and developed the first Mushroom Museum in Greece.
In times of harvest, seminars, conferences, and celebrations are organized on of course…the mushrooms. Grevena, was officially declared in November 2007, as the "City of Mushrooms."