Tichit village Mauritania

Tichit or Tichitt is a partly abandoned village at the foot of the Tagant Plateau in central southern Mauritania that is known for its vernacular architecture. The main agriculture in Tichit is date farming, and the village is also home to a small museum.

This region includes a long sandstone cliff formation that defines the northern limit of the Hodh depression, near the former lake of Aoukar the medieval trading settlement at Tichit is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The absence of prior evidence of human settlement points to the influx of mobile herders moving away from the “drying” Sahara towards more humid lower latitudes. These herders took advantage of the peculiarities of the local geology and environment and succeeded in domesticating bulrush millet – Pennisetum sp. The emerging agro-pastoral subsistence complex had conflicting and/or complementary requirements depending on circumstances. In the long run, the social adjustment to the new subsistence complex, shifting site location strategies, nested settlement patterns, and the rise of more encompassing polities appear to have been used to cope with climatic hazards in this relatively circumscribed area. An intense arid spell in the middle of the first millennium BC triggered the collapse of the whole Neolithic agro-pastoral system and the abandonment of the areas. These regions, resettled by sparse oasis-dwellers populations and iron-using communities starting from the first half of the first millennium AD, became part of the famous Ghana “empire”, the earliest state in West African history.

Things to do in Tichit village Mauritania

Tichit is home to a unique style of architectural design not found anywhere else in Mauritania. The surrounding area provides six unique colors of stones that are used in the construction of houses and other buildings. Like most of the North of Mauritania, these stones are stacked to build houses and walls, but unlike most of the rest of the country, in Tichit, they are shaped to a certain degree, and the different colors of stones are used to make designs in the walls.

The mosque, built entirely out of the blue-grey stacked stones, is one of the more famous mosques in Mauritania.

How to get to Tichit village Mauritania

Public transportation to Tichit does not exist. The only way for visitors to get to it is by renting a 4×4. Tracks lead out to the city from Tidjikja, and the trip is about 200 km. The tracks are well-marked, but it is a good idea to bring a guide/translator, as most people in Tichit only speak Hassaniya and the road to Tichit is barren. You will need enough fuel to get to Tichit and back to Tidjikja since there is none available in Tichit itself

Where to stay in Tichit village Mauritania

There are no places to stay in Mauritania and those who want to spend a night will need to go with full camping facilities and make sure you have security with you as the place is abandoned and hardly any services.