By the way, did you know that mushrooms grow in the deserts of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and that you can collect and eat them? You just need to wash them very thoroughly, otherwise the sand will crunch on your teeth.
Everyone calls them porcini mushrooms, but in fact they’re oyster mushrooms that grow on the roots of ferula assa-foetida. As for me, it’s much more interesting to collect mushrooms in the desert than in the forest. In recent years there’s been little rain in spring and as a result there were little mushrooms, or you have to go far and know the spots. But still, it is like hunting, but even more interesting.
So you can still find them at the bazaar in season? Are they on sale?
You can, but there are very few now. In 2025, for example, there were almost none. We ourselves walked and walked through the desert — barely found three.
If there aren’t any at the bazaar, that’s already a sign that there are hardly any mushrooms left 😔
That’s exactly it. I remember there used to be so many. My father would bring them home in sacks. But the climate is changing. There’s less and less rain. And on top of that, local guys, not knowing the proper technique for collecting these mushrooms, ripped out the entire mycelium. You’re supposed to cut them carefully, but they just yank them out.
And when is the best time to go to look for them in the desert? And where exactly?
Of course, it’s best to go in spring, in April. And in general, if you’re coming here, this is the time. It’s not hot, the desert is in bloom, tortoises, ground squirrels, and other creatures are running around.
If you go from Navoi, after Zafarabad, before reaching the checkpoint, there will be a turnoff on the left. There’s a sign there. It used to be free. Now they say the local guys have set up tapchans and yurts there. But I think it won’t be expensive.
Are there any clay fortresses like in Khorezm?
There are ancient settlement ruins. But you need special transport to get there. As far as I know, there are excursions.
As a kid in Zarafshan we collected so many mushrooms… and even bought them from the Kazakhs) the desert in spring is rich in mushrooms. You just have to walk a lot.
I’d gladly wander around there now “in search” )
They have one downside — the sand. No matter how much you soak them or wash them, it’s like the sand is inside the mushroom itself) sometimes you fry potatoes with mushrooms and your teeth squeak. But they’re so tasty — no basement-grown oyster mushrooms or champignons can even come close.
And when is the best time to go to look for them in the desert?
Yes, you need to go in spring. The Kyzylkum Desert is just pure beauty then. Be sure to be careful about snakes — they’re more active at that time. But everything around is blooming, poppies, camelthorn. With a spring like that, there should definitely be mushrooms. You just need to go north, beyond Uchkuduk (to Kulkuduk and further north), they should still be there.
But how do they even grow if there’s no water? And it’s not a porcini mushroom at all, it’s some kind of misunderstanding 😁mushrooms grow in the deserts of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan
Everyone calls them porcini mushrooms
@miloserd They actually grow right after the rain, when there is water. Only in spring, for a short period. As soon as the rain passes and the sun comes out, you need to go and look for them.
Here is a video how they collect the same type of mushrooms in the steppes of Kazakhstan