The hills of Alba and the truffle: two days between Barbaresco, the fair and the hunt with a trifulau

For two months a year Alba stops being a provincial town and becomes the capital of something that grows underground and cannot be farmed. The International White Truffle Fair runs from 10 October to 6 December, and all around are the hills UNESCO put on the World Heritage list: vineyards, towers, chapels, and trails nobody walks because everyone arrives by car.

We arrive on foot, and we stay the night.

Day 1 — from Barbaresco to Alba, then the fair

We meet in Alba in the morning, transfer to Barbaresco and walk down to the city along the vineyard trails: 14 kilometres and 400 metres of climb, the medieval tower behind us and the Tanaro below. In the afternoon we enter the world truffle market, among the trifulau stalls, where the nose counts more than the eyes. In the evening, dinner in a trattoria: a Langhe menu, with truffle added by the gram for anyone who wants it.

Day 2 — the hunt with the dog and the Barolo loop

Early in the morning we go into the truffle grounds with a trifulau and his dog: an hour and a half in the wood watching how the search really works, which has nothing to do with the fair stall. Then we climb to La Morra, the balcony over the Langhe, and close the loop past the Barolo Chapel — painted red, blue and yellow by Sol LeWitt and David Tremlett — and the village of Barolo. Eleven kilometres, 400 metres, back in the afternoon.

Who it's for

• anyone who wants to walk without taking on a mountain: these are hills, never a technical step
• anyone who eats with their head and wants to know where the food comes from
• anyone who wants a full but not brutal weekend: 25 kilometres over two days

Where you sleep

One night in a double room, breakfast included, between Alba and Bra. The Guiddy Coordinator stays with the group for both days.

Good to know

Lunches and dinners are not included: we book the table, everyone pays their own (25-35 € for dinner). Truffle is sold by weight and prices change daily. The truffle hunt runs in any weather; in heavy rain the guide swaps the order of the days.

Getting there

By car from Milan one hour forty-five (A7 to Asti-Ovest or A21 to Asti, then the fast road to Alba): park in Alba and leave the car there all weekend, we handle the transfers. By train Milan–Alba changing at Chivasso or Asti, about three hours: tell us when you book and we pick you up at the station. Guiddy car pooling works well on this trip.