Genekha Matsutake Festival

When it happens

The festival has no lunar rule. Its timing follows the matsutake mushroom, which is gathered once a year in a season that runs from July to September. The festival falls in the second week of August and lasts two days.

Where it happens

Genekha lies in the south of Thimphu district, among forested valleys and mountain slopes south of Thimphu city. It borders Dagana district to the south and Chhukha district to the southwest, and sits at roughly 2,000 to 3,000 metres.

Genekha is known locally as the Mushroom Village for its wild mushrooms, above all the matsutake, which has become an important income for local farmers. The matsutake grows in groups at the base of pine trees above 9,000 feet, and the forest around Genekha is one of two places in Bhutan where it is native.

The Ura Matsutake Festival in Bumthang is a separate festival built on the same mushroom.

History

The festival was first held in 2015. The organisation behind it is older. Genekha’s local administration formed a mushroom committee of more than 100 members in 2007.

Locals once knew the mushroom by another nickname, until a Japanese guest recognised it in the Thimphu vegetable market. It was then renamed Sangay Shamu (Buddha’s mushroom) and picked for sale. The government legalised mushroom picking to empower the people of Genekha and one other village.

The festival’s stated aim is to raise awareness of sustainable mushroom harvesting and to enjoy the mushroom’s natural flavours. People in Genekha depend mainly on matsutake and potatoes. The festival is also a way for them to honour the mushroom, market their produce and build connections with international buyers.

Usually, pickers sell to contractors by grade, in categories such as A, B and C. The festival creates a market where every grade is valued, and the whole community shares the gain.

What happens

This festival and the one at Ura are often described together as including mushroom-picking outings, mushroom dishes to taste, cultural performances by local people and schoolchildren, and local sports. It is a harvest festival rather than a cycle of cham (sacred masked ritual dances).

Behind the festival is a communal harvest. Once a year, in the harvesting season, local people walk through the valley to collect Sangay Shamu. Pickers usually rise as early as 4:30 in the morning to head to the forest, each carrying a foraging stick.

Being there

Genekha is 45 minutes from Thimphu. Families from nearby communities have camped overnight in tents across the area during the festival. Tourist numbers at the festival are reported to rise every year. The Dagala Thousand Lakes Trek is among the routes near Genekha.