Discover the world behind the curtains of one of the most unrevealed businesses in the world.
Funky Tours Team, in cooperation with one of the best Balkan truffle hunters, has created a unique adventure for all of you who are into off the beaten path places, breathtaking nature, charms of foraging and secrets of truffle hunting.
Did you know that Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the rare countries in the world that hides seven species of black gold?
This full day tour will enable you to make friends with your hosts and their irresistible truffle hunting dogs whose nose will guide you to the ripest of truffles waiting for you deeply rooted in dense Bosnian forest. You will have a chance to dig your very own truffle and experience the joy of cooking and tasting this remarkable ingredient in a charming village nested at turquoise river Krupa.
Departure Times Tour from Banja Luka departs at 9 AM. Tour from Sarajevo departs at 7 AM. From other locations tour will depart at the time agreed before the tour.
Pickup Locations We shall pick you up anywhere in Sarajevo or Banja Luka. Tour is available to be arranged from Mostar, Split or Zagreb.
Activity Note: The tour is adapted to all ages and is not physically demanding. Children and kids are especially welcome. Tour requires walking on the uneven forest terrain.
In addition to a myriad of small waterfalls and cascades, Krupa na Vrbasu is known for its calming melodies and murmur of foaming water produced by still functional old mills. As soon as we arrive, we will make sure to grab some breakfast snacks traditionally prepared just as our ancestors used to have.
>Beautiful slopes of Krupa na Vrbasu river
Once we bless our eyes and souls with incredibly serene morning setting of captivating Krupa river, we will head for meeting up with our hosts for a day. Local family of well known truffle hunting experts and organic producers will welcome us at their home. This is where we will meet the entire family, get our equipment and head towards the secret chambers of nearby forest.
The location of the forest simply can not be exposed in advance but rest assured it will be no longer than another half an hour of pleasant drive and that you will be simply astonished once the location is unlocked right in front of your eyes.
Accompanied by our host and his valuable and faithful companions, truffle hounds, we will start our, roughly 3hrs hunting adventure. Just imagine all of the joy of being completely embraced by intact nature while following the truffle hounds through the woods and experience a once in a life time adrenaline when you finally locate it.
> There are 164 species of truffles, of which only nine are edible, seven black and two white.
With a little help and advice, you will have a chance to dig your own truffle which you can either keep or prepare some tasty meal with your hosts afterwards.
During the hunt we will have a chance to learn more about the local community, the art of foraging, diverse world of mushrooms, plants and animals, and some interesting stories and legends originating from this region.
> Originally used as a water dog in Italian wetlands, Lagotto Romagnolo has been used to hunt truffles since the 19th century.
We will return to home of our hosts with our black gold trophy (or white with a little luck, Bosnia is known as a home to both edible white truffle sorts) and enter the world of culinary top secrets. Rest assured that you will have a truffle recipes enigma revealed in front of your eyes. Moreover, you will have a chance to enjoy this area’s many sights and culinary delights over a pleasant conversations, tasty food and some good local drinks.
Just imagine flirting with mixture of the strong truffle rakija taste along with a home made honey-like juice teasing your taste buds.
>Brandy made of wild pears aromatized with black truffle. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
You will finally understand the secrecy laying behind the truffle business and how did one man managed to preserve the pungent truffle aroma through canning in without any artificial additives. Not just truffles, whole obscure world of mushrooms will be unlocked in front of you.
>Cheese with Truffle aromatized olive oil is always a great appetizer
Our Truffle Hunter Not far from Banja Luka, in a small charming place called Krupa na Vrbasu, lives the king of truffles. Our host and truffle hunter Mijodrag in addition to going truffle hunting, he also processes these expensive and other types of mushrooms into top quality secondary products.
>Mijodrag’s family showing their selection of products based on truffle and other sort of mushrooms.
An exclusive delicacy or black treasure as many call this mushroom is not only a source of income for him but also gives him exceptional pleasure and fills his soul. At the end of the day aside trying truffle based products over the delicious truffle based lunch you will have an opportunity to buy some of his high-quality products.
> Mijodrag, the Bosnian King of Truffles
Knowledge SharedServices we offer during the Funky Tours story of Truffle Hunting and Truffle Tasting are aimed at high quality experiences. We aim to show you and to teach you how to differentiate the real, top quality truffle from the fake ones, how to know where to find and how to look for truffles. Additionally we shall discuss facts about truffle’s natural habitat, its organoleptic characteristics, its biological cycle, why Bosnia and Herzegovina is undiscovered “black diamond” paradise, and other important facts in the unique story of truffles.
Our DogsNo matter how good a truffle hunter you are, in the woods without a well-trained dog you are an ordinary pedestrian. Therefore, in addition to studying truffles, Mijodrag had to procure a special Italian breed of dog (Lagotto Romagnolo) that his friend trained to find this mushroom. You need to be aware of the fact that these dogs know how to recognize when you go truffle hunting in a bad mood and “for the sake of order”. And, in that case, they are not overly interested either. Consequently, without strong desire, passion and love for truffles you will not be successful in hunting.
>Beautiful Lagotto Romagnolo truffle hunting dogs
What Do I Need to Bring?
