Tourists gathered to pick mushrooms – Kommersant FM

Russians are increasingly going on mycological safaris, as travel agencies call trips to the forest to pick mushrooms. In recent years, entertainment has turned into a full-fledged business. Representatives of the tourism industry told Kommersant FM that clients began to regularly contact them with requests to organize excursions to the forest. They are conducted by experienced mushroom pickers, who now call themselves professional guides. And the tours themselves are becoming less and less like traditional hikes, turning into gastronomic trips or even extreme holidays on helicopters and ATVs. How much could such a tour cost? And what are you ready to offer to wealthy clients? With details – Ivan Khorushevsky.

Mushroom pickers themselves were the first to conduct mycological safaris; everyone had friends who were not against going to the forest, but did not know where exactly. Experienced guides came in handy more than ever. Other clients followed their friends. Now guides can earn up to several hundred thousand rubles per season.

They offer services for different tastes: from a one-day trip into nature to a week-long tour with tents and a survival course.

You can add barbecue and fishing to mushroom picking. St. Petersburg resident Dmitry recently tried out hiking with a guide:

“First of all, it’s passion. Walking through the forest for four hours and seeing different landscapes is a joy. In addition, the guide can recommend a dish that can be prepared after such an “excursion”.

We turned to a very experienced woman who knows almost all mushroom places, but they are still hidden. Ignorant people should walk with a guide, because there are many false and poisonous mushrooms.”

Short hikes cost from 500 rubles. up to 5 thousand rubles per person, but there are also more premium options. They suggest going on a mycological safari with a videographer who will film the entire process with a professional camera and even a quadcopter.

Such a service already costs 100 thousand rubles, and for 120 thousand rubles. You can go to Baikal to pick mushrooms. Kommersant FM found this advertisement on Avito and called the tour organizers:

“Only you and your company travel. We meet you at the Irkutsk airport and then take you to mushroom places, however, in addition to this, there will be other activities along the route. For example, one day we will go rafting on the Irkut River and will be able to take a walk there.”

But residents of the capital do not have to travel so far. A mushroom safari can be arranged in the Moscow region even without camping conditions: rent an elite cottage for several tens of thousands of rubles per day, and go into the forest on ATVs.

“Kommersant FM” offered such a program at the Russky Dvor hotel: “You can do this on an ATV, sitting behind the wheel yourself, or you can go with an instructor on a buggy. Renting a two-seater ATV will cost 6 thousand rubles. at one o’clock.

A couple of hours is enough to enjoy mushroom hunting.”

And this is not the most extravagant option. You can go north to an uninhabited island in the White Sea.

The tourist is offered to get to Karelia and take a boat from the city of Kem. Travel agencies are ready to offer clients something more, said Yulia Grigorieva, general director of the management company Reston Consulting:

“If you have some sacred knowledge about mushroom places, you can organize some kind of expedition there, almost a helicopter, with a guide. You can also have a picnic on the spot; the chef will cook something with these mushrooms.”

Such tours are designed for several days, and the cost starts from 0.5 million rubles. But when it comes to VIP trips, wealthy Russians prefer to organize them abroad, noted Kirill Levadny, managing partner of the Concierge service:

“Clients asked us to organize a so-called truffle hunt in the fall. It was in northern Italy. Usually there is a dog there that helps find these mushrooms. Then, with the help of a chef, you can cook them, make risotto, maybe pasta. All this is accompanied by wine tasting.”

However, all the loot after any tour can be saved and then sold. A kilogram of porcini mushrooms, for example, now costs about 1 thousand rubles. guides told Kommersant FM that the volatility in this market is less than in the foreign exchange market.