12 Days Experience Mauritania

The 12 days Experience Mauritania is a unique safari package that is designed to enjoy the best exploration safari in Mauritania where you will visit the desert, cultural sites, and national parks.

Highlights

Desert exploration
Blanc d’Arguin national park
Rough train experience
Libraries
Atlantic ocean

10 Days Tanzania Wildebeest

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival at Nouakchott International Airport

Arrive in Nouakchott and transfer to your hotel. Depending on when you arrive there may be time to explore the city.

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Day 2: Nouakchott–Banc d’Arguin National Park

Our adventure starts as we leave the city behind and head to the world renowned Banc d’Arguin National Park. On the way we stop at the fishing village of Nouadhibou, inhabited by the Imragen people. Banc d’Arguin is home to a huge variety of birdlife and we spend time exploring before heading to Iwik for the night.

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Day 3: Explore Tidra Island in Blanc d’Arguin national park

Travel by boat to Tidra Island to meet the local Imragen fishermen, learning about their lifestyle and how they make a living in this seemingly barren land. In the afternoon we return to Iwik for the night.

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Day 4: Nouadhibou – Cap Blanc

Drive to Nouadhibou, Mauritania’s second city, and an important fishing port. We visit the bay with its numerous abandoned ships – a unique and rather photogenic sight. We also head to Cap Blanc which is home to a community of rare Mediterranean monk seals.

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Day 5: Ben Amera

Drive through the desert to the huge monolith of Ben Amera, the second largest in the world after Australia’s Ayer’s Rock and a rather spectacular site. This region is also crossed by the ‘train of the desert’, the longest train in the world and up to 3km in length, transporting iron ore from Zouerat to Nouadhibou – we hope to see one if we are lucky.

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Day 6: Zouerat

Head to the mining town of Zouerat, home to the iron ore train. On the way we stop to visit some of the stunning rock formations that are found in the desert here. At Zouerat we stop to see the enormous open cast mines and visit the small anthropology and geology museum.

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Day 7: Drive from Zouerat- Tourine – Maqtair Desert

Head through the desert to the dunes of Tourine, a breath-taking landscape and one of the most beautiful parts of the country. Along the way, we may stop in small settlements and hope to meet nomadic groups.

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Day 8: Drive from Maqtair– Ouadane

Drive to the historic city of Ouadane, an incredibly atmospheric place on the southern edge of the Adrar plateau. Founded in the 12th century the town is a fascinating collection of old houses and mosques and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We have plenty of time to explore the historic quarter.

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Day 9: Drive from Ouadane-Chinguetti

Head to Chinguetti, one of Islam’s holiest cities and a real gem of Mauritania. With its collection of historic buildings this is a real contender for the Sahara’s most impressive city, with a sense of history that is almost tangible. We drive through the desert, stopping at the small oasis of Tenouchert, and then have the remainder of the time in Chinguetti to savour its very special atmosphere.

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Day 10: Drive from Chinguetti-Atar – Desert Camp

Drive to Atar and visit its 17th-century mosque, then continue through the desert to a nomad encampment, where we spend our final night sitting around the camp fire and learning about the customs of the people that live here.

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Day 11: Drive back to Nouakchott

After breakfast with our hosts, we drive back to the capital. There will be time to explore and visit nearby fishing communities before transferring to the airport for your flight home. (BL)

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