Mauritania travel guide

Adventurers and lovers of wild open spaces will be in their element in Mauritania. A country twice the size of France, it has a population of just 4.3 million and a tiny trickle of foreign visitors to match. An unstable security situation keeps people away, but you can experience the desert, historic towns and sweeping coastline if you take some precautions and travel with an experienced operator. Our Mauritania travel guide reveals more.

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Mauritania travel guide

Dwarfed by neighbouring Morocco on the tourism scene, little visited Mauritania is no less dramatic when it comes to history and natural beauty. The desert is a constant presence here. Swathes of creamy sand, dramatic monoliths, ancient rock paintings and a string of storied caravan towns dazzle in the interior, while the desolate beauty of the Atlantic coastline is fodder for kitesurfers and birdwatchers. Culturally, Mauritania is a nation of nomads and even in the cities you’ll find tents and wandering camels.

Mauritania offers barren desert landscapes, the ruins of old trading posts and a wild coastline where rusting, abandoned ships share space with seals and seabirds.

Socially, the country is far from harmonious. Despite being outlawed since 1981, caste-based slavery still exists here, with around 18 percent of the population living as bonded labourers. What’s more, the risk of terrorist activity has put off all but the most adventurous travelers. Tread cautiously and use an experienced operator, however, and you can get your Mauritanian fix, whether that be exploring the dunes around Adrar, learning from nomadic tribes or revelling in the unspoiled seascapes and birdlife of Banc d'Arguin National Park. Read on in our Mauritania travel guide.

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Mauritania is….

an enchanting jumble of vast desert skies, nomadic culture and ancient Saharan caravan towns.

Mauritania isn’t…

too dangerous to visit.

Things to do in Mauritania

The wild strangeness of desert landscapes is the major high point of a trip to Mauritania. It’s a land where nomadic life still flourishes and time-worn cities, rock paintings and neolithic ruins hint at a diverse and glorious past. Visual delights include vast sand seas, parched plains, and great, twisted hulks of rock, including the huge monolith of Ben Amera, the second largest in the world after Australia’s Uluru. If you’re lucky you’ll catch a glimpse of the ‘train of the desert’. The longest train in the world, it transports iron ore from Nouadhibou to Zouérat. It would be criminal to spend all of your nights indoors when the desert night skies are so luminous. The Sahara assumes a different, more mysterious character at night and camping out on the sands under its stars is the perfect way to appreciate it. All organised tours that pass through this region will include some time sleeping under canvas. Seeing Mauritania on its own is fascinating enough, but for an even greater adventure you could visit some of its neighbouring countries on the same trip. You could start in Morocco, for example, before traveling down through the disputed territory of Western Sahara to reach Mauritania, and then moving on southwards to Senegal, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.

Things not to do in Mauritania

Forget to greet people properly, even in everyday situations such as shopping or changing money, and preferably in French or Arabic if you can manage it. This is a country where traditions and codes of behaviour hold fast, so it’s also a good idea to do some research before you arrive. Most tour operators will give you the cultural lowdown on arrival so that you don’t offend local sensibilities. Respecting local people and their culture applies when taking photographs, too. Never snap away without asking permission first. Also, be aware that in some areas, taking a photo of military buildings or border post is forbidden. Always ask your guide if you’re not sure. Mauritania is a tough place to negotiate thanks to poor infrastructure and limited public transport, not to mention an unstable security situation. For this reason, we don’t recommend that you travel independently. If you join a small group tour you’ll travel in a private vehicle and enjoy the services of tour leader and an expert local guide, reducing the chances of anything going wrong and ensuring that if it does, help is close at hand. What’s more, you’ll have the added bonus of a gaggle of likeminded fellow travelers to share the highs and lows with along the road. Underestimate the power of the sun in Mauritania. You’ll be spending time in hot and dry places so do cover up, wear plenty of sunscreen and keep yourself really well hydrated, to avoid heat exhaustion, or the even more serious heat stroke.