All activities / Culinary / Cooking / Motovun
Culinary / Cooking in MotovunHR
A hilltop medieval town above the Mirna valley whose oak forest is one of only two places on earth where white truffles grow at commercial scale.
Why here
The Motovun forest in the Mirna valley is one of only two places on earth where the white truffle, Tuber magnatum, is found at commercial scale; the other is Alba, at several times the price and many times the crowds. Giancarlo Zigante pulled a 1.31kg white truffle out of this forest in 1999, a Guinness record at the time, and the find put Istria on the world truffle map. The way in is a working hunt: two to three hours behind trained dogs with families who have done this for generations, the Karlic family since 1966, followed by tastings and truffle-centered cooking back at the estate. Black truffles run year-round, but autumn, when the whites come up, is the season the whole valley organizes itself around.
Best months
White truffle season runs September into January, peaking October and November, when Livade hosts its autumn truffle fair weekends. Black truffle hunts run year-round. Book hunts ahead in the white season.
Getting there & around
Drive from Pula or Trieste, both about an hour. Hunts meet at family estates around Motovun, Livade, and Buzet; a car is necessary. Pair with Istria's wine and olive oil roads.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (2)
Karlic Tartufi
OutfitterThe oldest truffle-hunting family business in Croatia, working the Motovun forest since 1966, with hunts behind trained dogs, tastings, and an on-site truffle museum near Buzet.
Zigante Tartufi
OutfitterThe Livade truffle house built on the 1999 Guinness-record white truffle, running group and private hunts, a flagship shop, and the restaurant that anchors the valley's truffle fairs.