On the hunt for forest treasures

When the first mushrooms pop up on the forest floor, it’s time for autumn’s most delicious treasure hunt in Pitztal. We’ll reveal where the search really pays off, what to keep in mind – and how your finds become the highlight of your dinner.

A savoury scent drifts through the kitchen, mingling with the aroma of fresh herbs – and one breath is enough to tell you what’s on the menu today. A creamy mushroom risotto, perhaps, or a hearty mushroom goulash? Is your mouth watering? Then it’s worth setting out to where these little treasures grow: among the moss, roots, and rustling leaves of the Pitztal forests.

Passionate foragers tend to guard their best spots like a precious secret. Still, we’ll give you a few tips. Mushrooms thrive in spruce and mixed forests – on the wooded slopes around the hamlets of Plangeroß, Zaunhof, and Stillebach, for example. Keep your eyes open in damp, mossy places and in small clearings at the forest’s edge, and you just might find a few collectable treasures.

Before you head into the woods with your basket, take a moment to check the rules. In Tyrol, mushroom foraging is permitted daily between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., with a maximum of two kilograms per person per day. That way, plenty are left for the forest’s wild inhabitants – and for other foragers.

Just as important as knowing where to look is knowing what you’re looking at. The woods around St. Leonhard in Pitztal are home to porcini, chanterelles, birch boletes, and puffballs, among others. But remember: if in doubt, leave it be, and take home only species you can identify with confidence.

Or better still, enjoy Pitztal’s mushroom bounty with total peace of mind and a perfectly paired glass of wine in our restaurant at the Alpine Resort Sportalm – without ever having to rummage through the undergrowth.