mauritania
My clients are brave and curious, and Mauritania asks for both before it gives you anything back.
RECOMMENDED STAY
Ideal Duration
STARTING PRICE
Per Person Per Day
IDEAL MONTHS
Best Time to Visit
7+ days
$900
nov-mar
The Adrar, Chinguetti & the Atlantic CoastWHERE THE SAHARA MEETS THE OCEAN
Mauritania is twice the size of France, and roughly three quarters of it is the Sahara itself, stretching east until it meets Mali. What makes it extraordinary is the edge of that desert, dunes falling directly into the Atlantic along a coastline where the Banc d'Arguin shelters one of the largest concentrations of migratory birds left on earth, worked by Imraguen fishermen still sailing traditional lateen-rigged boats. Inland, the Adrar holds Chinguetti, once the seventh holiest city in Islam and a gateway for pilgrims heading toward Timbuktu, where private family libraries still guard manuscripts on law, theology, mathematics, and astronomy, centuries old, preserved and handed down by hand rather than kept behind museum glass. Nearby, Ben Amera stands as the largest monolith in Africa, and Guelb er Richat, the Eye of the Sahara, spans nearly 40 kilometers across, a formation so vast it is only fully legible from space. This is not a country that reveals itself easily. It rewards the traveler willing to earn it.
Where to go in mauritania
Where the dunes of the Sahara fall straight into the ocean, Banc d'Arguin shelters one of the largest concentrations of migratory birds on earth, alongside the Imraguen, who still fish these waters from traditional lateen-sail boats rather than engines.
Atlantic Coast
Mauritania's historic heartland, caravan towns guarding centuries-old manuscript libraries in Chinguetti, the fortified plateau town of Ouadane, and two of the strangest formations in the Sahara, Ben Amera, the largest monolith in Africa, and Guelb er Richat, the nearly 40-kilometer-wide Eye of the Sahara.
The Adrar
Nights spent in fly camps deep in the dunes, sunset dinners under skies with almost no light pollution, interrupted only by the passing of one of the longest trains in the world, nearly three kilometers of iron ore wagons crossing 704 kilometers of open Sahara between Zouérat and the coast.
Expedition Route
Nouakchott
One of the youngest capital cities in the world, built up almost entirely since Mauritania's independence in 1960, where hotels and logistics anchor the journey and the daily catch still comes in by hand along the beach before the real desert begins.
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TRAVEL + LEISURE
"Casewit spoke to the impact and importance of exploring the world outside your comfort zone."
AUSTIN Based Traveler
"Excellence is the word that comes to mind when I think of Sarah Casewit and my recent trip.”
BOSTON Based Traveler
"So many nights, my last thought before falling asleep was what a lovely day we'd had together. We can't wait to plan our next trip with her."
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