We Foraged Wild Mushrooms in Sierra Espuña This September

By seven in the morning, my boots were already soaked through with dew and Manolo had found his fourth niscalo before I'd found my first. We'd left Los Alcázares in the dark, coffee still in hand, and driven the best part of fifty minutes inland to Sierra Espuña while the coast was still asleep. Most people who live around the Mar Menor think of this time of year as beach season winding down and golf season picking up. Fewer realise that the pine forests above Alhama de Murcia and Totana are quietly producing one of the best hauls of the autumn calendar, and September's early rains this year brought the mushrooms out weeks ahead of schedule.

I've foraged here for the best part of a decade now, always with people who've been doing it longer than I have, and I can tell you plainly: if you get the timing, the ground and the company right, a morning in Sierra Espuña will change how you think about this whole area. Here's what mattered most on this trip.

1. Niscalos are what you're really here for

The niscalo (Lactarius deliciosus) is the mushroom that draws half of Murcia into these hills every autumn, and for good reason. Bright orange, with concentric rings on the cap and a habit of staining green wherever it's bruised or cut, it grows almost exclusively under Aleppo and black pine, which Sierra Espuña has in abundance. Locals will tell you October is the classic month, but this year's heavier September rain brought an early flush, and we found plenty of firm, unspoiled specimens tucked into the pine needles on north-facing slopes. Don't bother with anything soft, slimy or riddled with insect holes. A good niscalo should feel dense and almost squeak slightly when you press it.

2. Go with someone who actually knows fungi, not an app

This is where I get firm rather than friendly. Sierra Espuña has its share of Amanita species growing in the same pine litter as the mushrooms you actually want, and some of those will do serious damage to your liver, not your stomach. An app that guesses from a photo isn't good enough here. Manolo has been foraging these hills since he was a boy and he still won't eat anything he hasn't identified with total certainty against a second opinion. If you're new to this, go out with a local, or check whether the park's visitor centre, the Centro de Visitantes Ricardo Codorníu near El Berro, has current guidance on identification points or any restrictions in force that season. Regulations on quantities and collection do shift year to year, so it's worth a phone call before you fill a basket.

3. The ground above El Berro is where you want to be

Altitude and aspect matter more than most first-timers expect. We had our best luck between 700 and 1,100 metres, on shaded, north-facing ground that holds moisture long after the rest of the sierra has dried out in the morning sun. The stretch above El Berro, and the paths around Collado Bermejo, are where the older foraging families head first, and they get there before dawn for a reason: by mid-morning the best ground has usually been picked over. If you're staying somewhere along the coast and treating this as a day trip, it's genuinely worth setting an alarm you'd normally reserve for an early tee time. For anyone weighing up where to base themselves for a week that mixes this kind of inland exploring with beach and golf days, our guide to the Los Alcázares and San Javier area covers how easily Sierra Espuña, the coast and the region's golf courses all fit into the same trip without much driving fatigue.

4. Cook them the same day, and keep it simple

Niscalos don't keep well and they don't need much done to them. The classic treatment, niscalos a la plancha with a splash of olive oil, a clove of garlic and a scatter of parsley, is still the best one I know. If you've got a bigger haul, a revuelto de setas with scrambled egg and a little jamón turns it into a proper lunch. We took ours back to a rental near the resort and had them on the table within a few hours of picking, which is really the whole point. If you're planning a stay built around this kind of thing, a kitchen you can actually cook in makes a difference, and our holiday rentals near Roda Golf are equipped for exactly this sort of impromptu feast. For advice on timing a visit around this year's mushroom season, or anything else about making the most of an autumn stay, our team is easy to reach through the contact page.

Sierra Espuña won't feature in most people's picture of a golf holiday on the Costa Cálida, and that's exactly why it's worth the detour. An hour inland from the fairways and the beach bars, autumn is doing something the coast never quite manages. For more on how we spend the cooler months around here, our food and drink coverage has plenty more from this side of the region.