Where and when picking up wild mushrooms in Puglia
Published: November122019

Where and when picking up wild mushrooms in Puglia

Hi everyone, Roberto here to tell you about one of my greatest passions: picking wild mushrooms in Puglia!

Every year I look forward to the Autumn season: the first rainy days make me so happy and I can’t wait to wake up early in the morning, wear my rubber boots and go into the woods to spend as much time as I can looking for wild mushrooms.

If you’re a mushroom lover like me, you must know that Puglia is full of amazing forests where to find wild mushrooms and, if you’re planning to come to Puglia during the Autumn/Spring seasons you probably would like to know the best places where to find wild mushrooms and some rules to respect.

Can you pick-up mushrooms in Puglia?

First of all, you must know that in Italy you need to get a license to pick-up mushrooms but as a tourist, you probably will not have it.

The good news is that you can easily ask for a daily/weekly/monthly permission in every city hall of the towns related to the forest you would like to go in.

It costs not so much: like 5 euros per day, and it allows you to pick-up up to 3 kilos of mushrooms, not more!

Where are the best places to find mushrooms in Puglia?

Puglia is a warm region for most of the year and winters are not so cold here.

So this means that you will find mushrooms from the middle of October to January and from March to May.

The best areas where to find them are the National Park of Alta Murgia especially at the Mercadante Forest, Monte Cucco Forest, the forests around the Pulicchio of Gravina or at Rocca del Garagnone.

Going to the North, the best place for picking is the Umbra Forest which covers most of the Gargano Promontory and Faeto, a little village on the Daunia Mountains full of beechwoods.

Instead, in the Taranto area, you will find different types of mushrooms at Bosco delle Pianelle.

Salento is not the best place for mushrooms, but there’re some little areas around the town of Scorrano like Bosco Frasciola, Bosco Fanò, Bosco Signora and Bosco LucaGiovanni.

What are the most common wild mushrooms of Puglia?

There are several wild mushrooms we use to look for, pick and eat in Puglia.

Let’s talk about the most valuables.

Boletus’ are not very common here, but you’ll have the best chance to find them, as well as the Amanita Caesarea, in the Gargano area.

I personally know plenty of places where to find the Cantharellus Cibarius, Cornucopioides and Lutescens, but as mushrooms hunter, I cannot share my secrets. Shhh!

Both Lactarius Deliciosus and Lactarius Sanguifluus are very appreciated in Puglia and also very common to find, the same for Morchella Conica and Deliciosa.

In the end, there’s a wild mushroom in Puglia that is the most desired by all of us especially because it’s forbidden to pick it up in several areas: Cardoncello.

The star of Apulian wild mushrooms: Cardoncello, Pleurotus Eryngii.

If you’re planning to visit the National Park of Alta Murgia, probably you will find the Cardoncello mushroom, which has the scientific name of Pleurotus Eryngii.

It grows on many different kinds of plants like the Thistle, wild Fennel and Ferula.

During the whole Autumn, there’s a large number of folk festivals dedicated to the Cardoncello mushroom, especially in the Murgia area.

This mushroom is very appreciated for its nice and gentle flavour.

If you’re planning to go hunt this mushroom, be careful, not everywhere it’s allowed to pick it up.

Indeed, the Pleurotus Eryngii is a protected species of mushroom and in the National Park of Alta Murgia (where it is most common to find it), it’s everywhere illegal to pick it up.

Now you know almost everything about where and when picking up wild mushrooms in Puglia, so enjoy your holidays and your picking!

But, remember to run to the closest Heath Office to let an expert in mycology check the mushrooms you have been picking, before eating them.

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The tale of the Two Sisters


Traveling on the Apulian Adriatic coastline, in a few km from Lecce city, you’ll reach the marine area of Torre dell’Orso and the most famous Two Sisters Beach | ita: Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle.

  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia

Are you curious to know something about that singular name?

Well, there is a nice and a bit sad tale behind the Two Sisters Beach | ita: Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle. This gives the location a huge air of mystery.

This marine area is very fascinating. Reachable walking through a little Mediterranean Maquis forest, under the cliffs there’s a sandy beach 800 meters long.

Slight white sand, clear turquoise seawater, warm enchanting sun, everything in the same stunning place.

But probably you’re still thinking about the tale, so, I’m going to tell the story.

The tale of the Sisters

« The tale says that once upon a time, two young sisters were living in the Salento area. They were very hard workers, and they had never seen the magnificence of the sea.

One day, to counteract the hot summer, they went toward the seaside for the first time. Well, they were so much fascinated by the amazing view they got there that the younger one dived from the cliff into the water. At that point, the eldest sister tried to save her, but it was too late.

They couldn’t get back to the shore. The Gods, looking at them: alone, desperate, and cute, decided to turn them into two beautiful rocky stacks in the middle of the sea.

A fisherman, while walking nearby, just saw two rocks rise from the sea. Since that day, the beach is known as Two Sisters Beach. »

The tale is very magical but a bit sad, and once there, it’s really hard to don’t get emotional.

Then, the clear seawater just completes the landscape.

Two Sisters Beach and Torre Dell’Orso

The Two Sisters Beach| ita: Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | is located in the marine area of MelendugnoTorre dell’Orso. For the sake of completeness, we have to say that also this name has got a charming little story.

In this case, the name Torre dell’Orso, which literally means Bear Tower, derives from the sighting tower by the sea.

Then, on the cliff under the tower, there’s a rock shaped like a bear by the erosion.

  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia
  • Two Sisters Beach - Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | Torre dell'Orso | Lecce | Salento | Puglia

One day trip

If you want to get a fantastic and cool experience traveling on the Adriatic coastline, start your trip having a good breakfast in Lecce.

We advise you to ask for a pasticiotto and a caffè leccese: you’ll love them from here to the moon and back!

Then, drive from Lecce to Roca Vecchia village, where the amazing Poetry Cave | ita: Grotta della Poesia | awaits you for a nice dive.

After that, run towards the Two Sisters Beach | ita: Spiaggia delle Due Sorelle | to get a relaxing swim into one of the most beautiful seas of Puglia.

In the end, reach Torre Sant’Andrea to admire the stunning view of The Sea Stacks of Sant’Andrea | ita: I Faraglioni di Sant’Andrea .

But if you have still time, don’t miss the weird landscape of the Bauxite Cave | ita: Cava di Bauxite | quite close to Otranto.

You can easily do this little itinerary on a one day trip. From the morning to the night on the southern Adriatic coastline of Puglia.

We did it and you find an article about our Road Trip in Salento on the blog!

Would you like to start your trip? Enjoy your One day trip to Salento!

Click on the map below to directly get the direction.

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Big news for you!

We’ve opened the first Puglia Poster Store!

We deliver posters in Italy for now, or you can catch them in Bari.

Starting from September 27th

Let us know if you live in the US or a European country and want to make an order.

We’ll set it up!