2026 – MAURITANIA EXPLORATORY EXPEDITION: 15 days + 6 days Extension

Arrival in Nouakchott. Transfer and overnight 

As resume of Mauritanian history and culture, visit of the interesting National Museum which displays archeology, artifacts, costumes, and textiles from prehistory to the present days. Unique pictures taken during excavations of Aoudaghost, the northern trading town and better conserved site of the legendary Ghana Empire, that we will get in touch with on day 16th. Lunch in a restaurant managed by Ivorian women to taste their specialties. Afternoon driving along the northbound road in the Sahara Desert in a spectacular dune landscape to the mining town of Akjoujt. 

Early departure for an intense day visiting the even more scenic landscape of Mauritania: valleys, high mountains, yellow sand with dark brown and red rock peaks, remote adobe villages.
The Amatlich Erg is one of the most beautiful dune chains in the region. We will visit remote nomadic camps, oases and hidden adobe villages finding here and there prehistoric stone arrowheads, a fragment of terracotta: silent testimony of peoples who lived in these sites a long time ago, before desertification).
These human encounters after the immense silence of the Sahara are intense.
Evening arrival in Chinguetti.

Chinguetti is an ancient caravan terminal and an important trading point between North and Black Africa. The stone village, at a cross point of different caravan routes, dates back to the thirteenth century and is reckoned nowadays as the jewel of the Mauritanian oases.
We will spend the whole day in the magical atmosphere of this citadel, discovering among others, palm groves that shade vegetable gardens, a green miracle. In the old stone quarters, we will be invited to visit two ancient manuscript collections, including Ould Habott, the largest one in Mauritania. The white stone mosque considered the second ancient, still operating in the world. As remains of the colonial: the former French Foreign Legion fort and the tribunal building in Neo-Sudanese style. 
The day will end on the highest dunes to enjoy the sunset over Chinguetti.   

Drive to Ouadane.
Ouadane, founded in 1147 on a rocky hill, is the most remote oasis in Mauritania, an outpost facing the immensity of the desert. Mainly in ruins, some of its stone houses are still inhabited. In ancient times, Ouadane was a caravan trading point between the Maghreb and black Africa. Trade was so flourishing that in 1487 the Portuguese built a fortified trading post in the region. 

Guelb er Richat, a geological mystery called by geologists the “Eye of Africa”, is a landmark for astronauts. Three concentric rock rings around an inland hill, the largest ring 40 kilometers (25 ml) in diameter. Geologists have formulated various hypotheses about the origins: the first is that the phenomena were caused by a huge meteorite that fell to earth. The most recent theory believes it is the result of erosion on a large volcanic dome. Overnight stay: camp in the desert. 

Off-road itinerary between spectacular rocky ranges with breathtaking views of the desert and possible encounter with remote groups of nomads.
The Trig Chauail Canyon is an impressive sight: flat rock surfaces covered with petroglyphs. The region hides more than 220 panels with 600 different motifs, a real “open-air” retrospective exhibition on the last 6 000 years of rock art in the Sahara: from the time before desertification (showing warriors, horses pulling chariots, livestock and wildlife such as elephants and antelopes) to more recent times (showing camels (dromedaries) that came to the Sahara with the final desertification, some 2000 years ago). Camp at the abandoned fort of El Ghallaouiya, built by the French colonial “camel battalions”, has the typical atmosphere of the foreign legion. Overnight stay: mobile camp. 

Departure for total emptiness. We will find our way off the beaten track through the immensity of Erg Ouarane: large more than 800 kilometers of continuous dunes and virgin sand on the horizon, a pure Sahara experience.
GPS, compass, local guide and years of experience, will help us navigate through one of the least known parts of the Sahara, the largest desert on Earth, in its most perfect form, as only the imagination can represent. 
After three days of total emptiness, the Aoukar mountains and the Makhrouga site will appear, one of the most spectacular rock erosions in the Sahara: nature has carved a rock massif in the shape of elephants. Some graffiti depicting an archaic Berber alphabet (Tifinag) bear witness to an ancient human presence.
Overnight stay: mobile camp in the dunes. 

Follow the Aoukar mountain chains is as difficult as spectacular. It was the shore of a large lake, now vanished in the desert, and remains of numerous prehistorical villages are hidden between rocks and sand. In that humid period, the region was highly inhabited. Some experts estimate that in the Neolithic the Aoukar was hosting a population of 400.000 inhabitants, being, at that time, one of the largest inhabited places on earth. Arrive at Oualata, one of the more special oases of the Sahara.  If early arrival starts of the visit of this unique oasis. 

Oualata is a World Heritage Site and a unique and spectacular oasis dating back to the 11th century. Hidden by rocky hills, it was an important caravan terminal in the Southern Sahara. The traditions of Oualata are still alive. 
What makes adobe architecture special are the frescoes that decorate the entrances (and interiors) of the houses. 
These frescoes are made exclusively by women who have handed down this technique from mother to daughter for centuries. Women of different ethnic groups in the West African savannah create complex frescoes that often hide symbolic meanings.
The frescoes show the cultural connection between the local Berber female population and the female traditions of Black Africa.
After lunch a track will bring us to Nema and to the hotel. 

Morning departure. We’ll reach Ayoun El Atrous and Kiffa before evening, traveling along the only road connecting Mauritania from east to west. This road connects extremely isolated regions to the capital and the Atlantic coast, hence the name “the road of hope.”
Visit the large Kiffa market, an important trading post between the region’s nomadic populations and the sedentary and rural populations of Black Africa, who came from the savannahs of the southern regions toward the border with Senegal. Kiffa is known for its local production of glass beads (Kiffa beads). The use of glass and stone beads, whether as currency, dowry, or simply as jewelry, is deeply rooted and still practiced among the people of this oasis, considered the main center of exchange for these goods-currency. At the market, we’ll discover traditional Kiffa pearls, as well as ancient Venetian glass beads brought by caravan trade and ancient stone beads.

Morning departure. A day of travel to Nouakchott, which we’ll reach before evening, with a visit to a camel market. Day rooms and transfer to the Airport. 

We will follow a road to Ayoun el Atrous. Then, we leave this road and follow a track to the northwest.
One of the highlights of the itinerary is the archaeological site of Aoudaghost with its miles of ruins hidden in the mountains. Aoudaghost is believed to have been the northern trading town of the Ghana Empire, the oldest known empire in black Africa dating back to the 6th century.
Aoudaghost was a wealthy caravan town being gold dust its most famous trade. In ancient Islamic manuscripts it was described as large as Mecca.
Only a few areas of Aoudaghost were studied by archaeologists in the early 60s but today the sand has covered all traces of the few excavations and there we will have the impression of being the first on the sites after a thousand years.
Thanks to the remoteness of the place, these sites are rarely visited. We will discover in the area the mysterious remains of another stone town, Togba, totally unknown.
In this region we explore deep caves, a unique experience: thanks to our flashlight we will discover prehistoric millstones, decorated granaries and more… Mobile camp. 

We will explore the western part of the Aoukar basin. The few books existing on Mauritania says that only experienced camel caravanners can venture into these remote regions … We will experience the region by “climbing” with our 4×4 caravan the Foum el Nega (the Pass of Nega) considered the most difficult passage of what was the Paris-Dakar strenuous competition. Mobile camp. 

Finding our way between sand and rocks in the Tagant region to join Matmata guelta. In the scarce waters of this guelta we discover “live fossils” that have been able to survive the most dramatic of climatic changes that have transformed a green savannah crossed by rivers into the current Sahara. The rare desert crocodile (Crocodylus Suchus) still survives in the desert of Mauritania and Chad. Crocodylus Suchus lives mainly on fish and had adapted to survive the long dry season of the Sahara thanks to aestivation. Aestivation is similar to hibernation, but not to survive a cold and snowy winter on the contrary to survive the hot and dry long summer season, reducing metabolism and all life activities, falling into a sleep-like state.
In the region we will visit some unexplored archaeological sites with remains of large fortified stone citadels that includes market squares, chief palace and dozens of small stone towers. 

We join the paved road, known as “la route de l’espoir” (the road of hope), which connects southwestern Mauritania with the capital and the Atlantic coast. Stop for lunch at a local restaurant, visit the market and arrive at Butilimit. 

Scheduled arrival in Nouakchott in the late morning. Market, artisans and the colorful fishermen’s port. Day rooms available. Transfer to the airport.