Travel deep into Mauritania’s Adrar Desert on an 11-day expedition blending 4×4 adventure and camel trekking. Explore ancient cities, wild oases, the Eye of the Sahara, and Atlantic coast wonders — where raw nature meets timeless culture.
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In this trip, you are invited to visit the Adrar desert, a plateau in Sahara Desert in a northern part of Mauritania. Adrar is part of natural geographical area of Mauritania, which the locals call Trab el Hajra (“Land of Stone”).
The Adrar desert is known for its canyons and moving sand dunes and is home to a small population. The Ksars (human settlements) of XI—XIII centuries located in a local area, and now these are cities of Ouadan and Shinguitti, are UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites. There are also 27 oases with a total area of 2.2 thousand hectares, which is 22% of total area of oases of Mauritania.
Mauritania is a country of contrasts, and in eleven days you will see a lot. Wander through the streets of ancient Saharan trading cities of Ouadan and Chinguetti, set up camp in desert oases and spend nights with nomads and their camels in desert, falling asleep and admiring stars. You will swim in an Atlantic Ocean next to high dunes of Banque d’Argin National Park. You will cook bread in sands of Sahara, learn to dance in Moorish and admire sunrises and sunsets from tops of sand dunes.
Your unforgettable journey through real great Sahara Desert by car and on foot with camels will last 11 days from the capital Nouakchott to the Eye of Sahara and back – through Adrar Desert and Banque d’Argin National Park.
This trip is intended for people who are interested in history, architecture, culture of Mauritania, as well as discovering magical natural landscape of Sahara Desert, meeting with its flora and fauna, and contacting local population.
The travel route is flexible, it can be arranged in different chronological order depending on local conditions, spontaneous discoveries that may occur on road, and wishes of a group.
11 days, 10 nights, of which 9 days travel by car, 2 days trekking in Sahara Desert with a camel caravan
Arrival in a capital of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, meeting at an airport with a host team. Transfer to a 4* hotel, rest, walk around city in your free time, dinner.
City of Nouakchott is located on a coast of Atlantic Ocean and translated from the Berber language, means “a place where wind blows”. Walking around city, you will meet Moorish culture, immerse yourself in peculiarities of local population life.
After breakfast at Nouakchott hotel, you will leave city and drive to Azuega dunes. The landscape will quickly transform from a seaside desert into a real Sahara. Next, before continuing to the highest dune in Mauritania, you will get off a road to have a delicious lunch. Arrive at a place before sunset, you will have time to climb this shimmering golden sand tower to admire a panoramic view of desert, which is rarely seen anywhere. After dinner by campfire, you will set up camp at foot of dune and fall asleep admiring stars.
In the morning, you will head further northeast, to western edge of Adrar plateau. Here you will find a gorge with palm groves surrounding a stream gushing from a spring in desert. This is Terjit oasis. This is a magical place, one of the most beautiful oases in Mauritania, where you can enjoy swimming in a natural spring and see firsthand importance of oasis in life of Moorish nomads. In the past, Terjit was a venue for religious ceremonies, weddings and even coronation of princes. You will stay overnight at a local guest house, preparing for a camel hike the next day.
In the morning, you will meet with your local guides to walk to the heart of Blanche Valley (White Valley), a strip of Sahara sand framed by impressive cliffs and rock formations. Camels will carry all your gear while you get to a camp in the open air. And then all together you will cook lunch and dinner, make tea and even learn how to cook bread in sand. Another night when you will fall asleep admiring stars, this time really alone, in a company of nomads and their camels.
Sunrise at a camp in desert of Blanche Valley in Mauritania is something you will not soon forget. In the morning, you will have breakfast and brew tea on remaining coals from campfire before continuing trek towards Chinguitti, an ancient trading city in Sahara, which was founded in the 13th century and was a meeting place for Moorish pilgrims on their way to Mecca. Its architecture of unbaked stone and mud brick and sand-strewn streets give an impression that an old town of Shinguitti has survived almost to present day in another century. Among attractions are Friday Mosque, topped with five ostrich eggs, and manuscript library. You will have an opportunity to explore everything before spending a night at a local guest house.
On a camel trip, you can see what life of Moorish nomads is like. On the same day, you will continue exploring ancient trading cities of Sahara, driving cars from Chinguitti a couple of hours deep into Sahara, in between stopping at a desert oasis before arriving in the city of Ouadan (the distance between Chinguitti and Ouadan is 147 km). Like Chinguitti, the old quarter of Ouadan is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You will get acquainted with rich history of the city, and then taste traditional dishes for dinner and go for an overnight stay at a local guest house.
In the morning, after breakfast, you will head back to Adrar plateau and eventually arrive in the capital of Atar region, the largest settlement on Adrar plateau (distance between Ouadan and Atar is 180 km). The city of Atar, which was once an important stop on the Paris-Dakar rally, is a gateway to the north of country. In your free time, you will walk around the city, get acquainted with its historical sights: museums and an ancient mosque built in 1674.
You will spend a night here, preparing for another night in a desert camp. Accommodation in a 3* hotel, dinner.
Today you will have a car trip to the monolithic Ben Amera mountain in Sahara Desert (distance is 103 km).
On the way, you will stop at the Rishat structure, also known as “Eye of Sahara” (20 km northeast of Ouadan). This archaeological and geological wonder in the middle of desert is a ruined geological dome with a diameter of about 50 kilometers, which arose more than 600 million years ago. The history of origin of this structure of earthen rings is still unknown. Scientists have put forward some theories about extraterrestrial impact or about the explosion and crater of a volcano, but all this has not been definitively proven.
Next, you will arrive at the 633 m high Ben Amer monolith and set up a camp next to it, where you will spend another night under nearby delightfully bright starry sky of Sahara. Ben Amera is the largest monolith in Africa and the second largest in the world after Uluru in Australia.
Also, if desired, on this day you can drive to Zuerat city and from there ride along only railway line in Mauritania on the world’s longest freight train carrying iron ore to a coast. However, you will have to go on top of iron ore piled into a wagon, which is a local little adventure.
After breakfast at camp, you will drive to the town of Nouadhibou, located on Atlantic Ocean coast near a border with Western Sahara and is a major fishing center in the country.
Check into a 3* hotel, clean up and go for a walk around the city.
Nouadhibou is the second largest city in Mauritania. Here you can see how iron ore is unloaded from railway trains for processing, Cape Ras Nouadhibou, where a rare monk seal lives, and a cemetery of ships.
Overnight at the hotel, dinner
In the morning, you will head along Atlantic Ocean coast to Banque d’Argin National Park (100 km away), with an area of 1.2 million hectares, of which 55% is water, 45% is land.
It is located between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou. It belongs to UNESCO World Heritage Sites due to valuable natural complexes of a transition zone between Sahara Desert and Atlantic Ocean. From a coast, it is a 300 km long bay with a coastline of sand dunes, wetlands, mangrove swamps, labyrinths of channels and coves, small islands and sandbanks.
It is also a large nature reserve, which is home to more than a million migratory birds from Northern Europe, Siberia and Greenland. This place is considered the largest colony of waterfowl in all West Africa, which is a real miracle, given small variety of feathered life in a region. It is also home to sea turtles, monk seals and dolphins.
You will have an opportunity to explore vast sandbanks of Park, observe wildlife, and, if conditions are suitable, set up camp and spend a night right on ocean.
In the morning, you will say goodbye to beautiful Park and move to Nouakchott, starting and ending point of entire journey. Nouakchott is 282 km away.
You can schedule a flight from Nouakchott for the evening or stay one more night in the city and fly next day. In between, you will have time to relax or get to know the city better. Namely, drink another cup of Moorish tea or freshly squeezed juice before saying goodbye to this amazing colorful country and saying “see you next time.”
The best time for this trip is from October to April, approximate temperature in Sahara desert in Mauritania will be 40 degrees at a day and 5 degrees at night.
The trip takes place on 4X4 four-wheel drive SUVs, accommodating a maximum of 4 people (3 passengers, 1 driver).
Upon arrival in Mauritania, Russians must obtain a visa at Nouakchott airport for a period of 90 days in the country and cost $ 20. To cross the border, Russians will need:
The import of alcohol and any pork products is prohibited in Mauritania.
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