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Sahara Iron Trail

Mauritania Travel Guide

Mauritania Destinations

From the Atlantic capital Nouakchott to the caravan town of Chinguetti, the Terjit oasis, the iron ore train and the Banc d'Arguin National Park — the places our Mauritania tours take you, written by our local team.

The stone minaret of the Friday Mosque in Chinguetti, Mauritania

Adrar Region

Chinguetti

A medieval caravan town of stone, sand and centuries-old manuscripts in the heart of the Adrar.
Date palms growing between the rocks of the Terjit oasis canyon in Mauritania

Adrar Region

Terjit Oasis

Natural spring pools under date palms, hidden in a rock canyon of the Adrar.
Traditional Imraguen sailing boat on the sea at Banc d'Arguin National Park

Atlantic coast

Banc d'Arguin National Park

Where the Sahara meets the Atlantic: flamingos, pelicans and Imraguen sailing boats.
Golden dunes and rocky plateau of the Adrar desert near Atar, Mauritania

Adrar Region

Atar & the Adrar

Palm groves, rock plateaus and caravan history at the heart of Mauritania's desert.
Nouakchott city centre and mosque minarets lit up at dusk

Atlantic coast

Nouakchott

The Atlantic capital of Mauritania, and the starting point of every Sahara Iron Trail tour.
Travellers resting on the iron ore train on its way to Nouadhibou

Atlantic coast

Nouadhibou

Mauritania's second city, the end of the line for the iron ore train.
Ore wagons of the Mauritanian desert train waiting in the Sahara near Choum

Adrar Region

Choum

A tiny desert junction, a two-kilometre colonial tunnel, and the boarding point for the longest train in the world.
Travellers climbing the granite slopes of Ben Amira in the Mauritanian Sahara

Adrar Region

Ben Amira

A giant dome of rock rising out of the flat Sahara, a few kilometres from the tracks of the iron ore train.
Aerial view of the concentric rings of the Richat Structure, the Eye of the Sahara

Adrar Region

Eye of the Sahara (Richat Structure)

A giant 40 km bullseye in the Mauritanian desert, famous from space and reachable by 4x4 from Ouadane.
Travellers on top of the loaded iron ore train in the Sahara

Tiris Zemmour

Zouérat

The mining town in the far north where the world's longest train is loaded for the Atlantic.
Stone arches in the ruined old ksar of Ouadane, Mauritania

Adrar Region

Ouadane

Stone ruins on a desert escarpment, a UNESCO ksar older than Chinguetti, and the gateway to the Eye of the Sahara.