Is Mauritania a travel destination? Yes, indeed. This Mauritania overland expedition takes you from the Capital, Nouakchott to the remote hinterland of the Adrar, along with a small group of like-minded travelers like yourself accompanied by expert local guides to help you get the best of Mauritania overland culture and adventure.
The trip starts from Nouakchott across vast swathes of desert, visits the ancient caravan terminal Trans-Sahara trade at Chinguetti and Ouadane, drives along the natural and little-visited coastline, and then heads off on a desert expedition into the Sahara. Exploring Mauritania, you'll travel overland past dunes, salt swamps, and mountains to Chinguetti. This almost deserted stone town was once the capital of the Moorish Empire and still holds a library with a fascinating collection of ancient books and manuscripts.
On this classic Mauritania tour, you will encounter nomadic settlements under Goat hair tents and transhuman villages mainly of pastors and camel herders; you will also visit Imragen villages and hear about the symbiotic existence of fishermen and dolphins. Mauritania's capital, Nouakchott, creates an exciting starting point for our seven-day expedition exploring natural sites and lagoons with the bird species of Banc d'Arguin National Park and monk seals at Cap Blanc creating in contrast to the arid desert with wildlife watching encounters way off the traditional stomping ground of binocular wielding twitchers.
The Atlantic shoreline around Nouadhibou is devastatingly beautiful, with the wrecks of ships catching the imagination of pioneers of another era before heading inland towards the world's third-largest monolithic sites, Ben Amera, which casts shade over the desert like a gigantic ancient sun clock.
Do not miss this great overland Mauritania expeditions to create memorable moments as this Mauritania small group tour reaches a climax with the former trans-Saharan trading towns of Ouadane and Chinguetti providing a quintessentially ancient Saharan ambiance amongst the ruined walls and sand-filled alleys. Are group tours cheaper? Group tours are usually cheaper than private. However, it would be best if you also considered that group tours save you a lot of time in research, organization, and booking your trip and activities.
Upon your arrival at Nouakchott Airport, you will find our representative agent waiting for you to greet you, then transfer you to your hotel. The afternoon will be devoted to visiting the Nouakchott historical highlights. Dinner and accommodation will be at your hotel. Your tour leader will give a debriefing about your adventure tour to Mauritania.
• Arrive at the International Airport of Nouakchott
• Meet the driver and guide.
• Assistance at the Airport
• Transfer to the Hotel
After breakfast, we will hop in our land cruisers to overland North East of Mauritania to explore the Chengetti region in the heart of the Adrar Region. Adrar is a traditional region of central Mauritania of a low central massif with noticeable cliffs that rise to about 800 feet (240 m) above sea level. The terrain is arid and almost unsuitable for farming. There is, however, sufficient water at the base of the uplands to support date palm groves oases. During the wetter part of the year, the cultivation of millet, sorghum, melons, and vegetables in some oases and valleys of the Adrar is suitable. We will trek across breathtaking Saharan landscapes with some stark rock formations encountering some Berber settlements of nomads and semi-nomad pastors, not to miss, of course, the Dunes of Guetti. After a trekking journey, we will take a break at Atar town to visit its landmarks and market, reminiscent of a great time of camel caravans fairs. Explore historic sites, including Ouadane, formerly a caravan and gold-trading center, and Chinguetti, an ancient center of learning and Islamic teachings. Dinner and accommodation will be at your Guesthouse.
• Driving on the tar road. Going through AKjojet and the Atar, the capital of the Adrar region.
• We keep moving to Chinguetti.
• Arrive in Chinguetti, and visit the Koranic library, and the Mosque.
• Adventurous driving on the huge dune of Guetti.
• Watch the enchanting sun if the clouds clear up
• Return to the Auberge to spend the night
Our day will start with an overland trip toward Ouadane, about 50 miles traveling north to explore some of the natural wonders of the Sahara desert. We will stop at an old crater with circular rock formations called The Eye of the Sahara. We will visit also the town of Ouadane's historic highlights. The library of Ouadane is worth stopping by. Chinguetti and Ouadane are UNESCO World Heritage Sites because they are vestiges of the once-flourishing civilizations that existed during the era of the Trans-Sahara salt trade.
Both towns were learning centers back when Muslims led the world in science and technology. Today, they oversee decaying books. We will return to the guesthouse for dinner and a comfortable night.
• Northeast, 93 km of driving, a little bit out of the way.
• Passing by a number of small villages, and probably visiting some nomads.
• Visiting the famous mysterious Eye of Sahara
• Reach Ouadane by midday.
• Having some rest at the Auberge.
• In the afternoon, do our visit to the ruin of ancient Ouadane.
• Visit the library if open.
• Back to relax at the Auberge.
After breakfast, we will take off to a picturesque town Overlanding some great canyons and valleys to Terjit. Terjit is an oasis in the proper sense: a desert spring or other water source), 45km by road south of Atar. It is nestled in a gorge on the western edge of the Adrar Plateau with the palm grove stretching a few hundred yards alongside a creek, which emerges from the mainspring. Terjit is part of the commune of Maaden in the Aoujeft province or county.
There is a modest fee to enter and tourists can pay to stay in tents in the palm grove. It is often used for the few visitors who venture to explore this magnificent oasis in every sense of the term. Charm, freshwater, and shade are a great place to take a break from the ruggedness of the Sahara desert.
Historically, it has been used for religious ceremonies, especially wedding ceremonies, as well as the coronation of a few African princes. We will camp overnight in the oases to enjoy an ethereal night under the African skies. Dinner will be cooked for our group by a local family.
• Leave Ouadane. Pass by the Amogjar pass which has a breathtaking canyon
• Taking pictures of the abandoned house that was made for the film Fort Sagan.
• Visit some wonderful prehistorical paintings in the area.
• Pass by the palm groves oasis Tewnechert
• Then we drive to the oasis of Terjit.
• Visit the water spring streams.
• Spend the night in tents.
Wake up to the lively oasis activities to enjoy mingling with locals. We will take breakfast and ride our land cruisers toward the Banc of Argan visiting on our way Nouamghar and Chami villages. The Banc of Argan is a major breeding site for migratory birds traveling from Europe and North Africa down to the tropics, including flamingos, broad-billed, sandpipers, pelicans, storks, terns and many more, the very few to mention. Much of the breeding is on the sandbanks of these lagoons sandbanks including the islands of Tidra, Niroumi, Nair, and Arquim. The surrounding waters are some of the richest fishing waters in western Africa and serve as nesting grounds for the entire western region. The afternoon will be devoted to enjoying a dip in the Atlantic Ocean at the stretched promontory of Arkeiss Beach.
• Leave Terjit pass by Nouamghar and the new town of Chami.
• Reach the World heritage site Banc d’Arguin.
• Swim at the beach of Arkeiss and/or walk on the cliff.
• Night in Mauritanian tents with the sound of waves.
We will wake at the crack of dawn to start our cruise. We will drive about 18 miles to meet our boat in Iwik and start our cruise sailing to explore some exotic small islands, and watch thousands of birds nesting; perhaps some dolphins and gazelles viewing. In the afternoon we will get back to the mainland and camo in Iwik reflecting on a great adventure day cruising the offshores of Mauritania. This area is known to be one of the best fishing in West Africa.
• Wake up early in the morning for sailing.
• Meet the boatman in Iwik, 30 km from Arkeiss.
• Go sailing, and spend almost five hours in the sea.
• Visit small islands, and watch hundreds of birds changing location.
• If lucky, we see dolphins and gazelles.
• Go back to shore.
• Go back to Iwik, a relaxing night in local tents.
After breakfast, we will drive down to Nouakchott. Our local guide will be expecting us to take us on a guided tour of the capital of Mauritania exploring historic sites, the national museum, and the colorful colonial central market to close our Nouakchott city tour in the market to do the shopping for last-minute souvenirs. Later we will transfer you to the airport and assist you with your transfer. Bid you goodbye in the hope to see you again on another Mauritania adventure tour. We hope you enjoyed visiting Mauritania and that our tour was up to your expectations.
• Drive back to the capital city
• Go to the National Museum, if open. Visit different sectors of the Museum.
• Go to the colorful Marchè Capital. Visit shops and the Market surroundings.
• Visit Hotel El Khater.
• Go to the Friday Mosque of Nouakchott.
• Meet the Driver. Go to the Zein Art Gallery, if open.
• Go to the Fish Market / Watch the fishermen go out and bring back their catch.
• Transfer to the Hotel
• Later at night, assistance and transfer to the Airport.
| DEPARTING | FINISHING | SEATS | TOTAL IN USD |
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Cost per person: $2185 USD
Single supplement: $345 USD
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