Wilaya · Atar
Adrar
Chinguetti, Ouadane, Terjit and the Richat Structure: the Adrar holds most of what travellers come to Mauritania to see.
The Adrar is where most visitors to Mauritania go. Its capital is Atar. On its rocky plateau and between its ergs sit the country's best-known sites.
**Chinguetti** and **Ouadane**, towns of the 11th and 12th centuries, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Chinguetti keeps family libraries of manuscripts centuries old; Ouadane offers stone ruins looking down over a palm valley.
**Terjit Oasis** is a cleft in the mountain where a permanent spring runs beneath the palms — shelter from the heat of the day. The **Richat Structure**, known as the Eye of the Sahara, is an eroded geological dome some forty kilometres across, its rings visible from space.
Add to that the Amogjar Pass with its Neolithic rock art, the ruins of Fort Saganne, and the Amatlich and Ouarane ergs with their very high dunes.
The season runs October to April. The paved road from Nouakchott is about 450 km, and Atar airport takes direct flights from Europe in winter.
Destinations
Regions of Adrar
Erg Maghteir
The Erg Maghteir (or Makhteir) belongs to that mighty chain of dune fields running from western Algeria, west of the Saoura,…
El Beyed
Six hundred kilometres north-east of Nouakchott, El Beyed is a tiny village set in a rocky cirque, on the bed of an ancient…
El Ghallaouiya
Deep in the Sahara, in Mauritania's Adrar region, El Ghallaouiya (also spelled El Galawiya or El Ghalawiya) is a major historical…
🇲🇷 Mauritania
Chinguetti
Mauritania's Chinguetti: a city holding eight centuries of Islamic heritage A historic Mauritanian town whose name designated…
The Desert Train and Choum Station
The town of Choum: its landmarks and the importance of the train Choum is a vital Saharan town and administrative centre…
The Great Dune of Azoueïga
A mountain of sand, not a hill. The Great Dune of Azoueïga rises west of the Amatlich erg, in the Adrar region, reaching…
Terjit Oasis
Running water in a rock gorge, in the middle of the Adrar plateaus — that is what surprises people at Terjit. A small oasis…
Ouadane
The historic town of Ouadane Ouadane is an ancient archaeological site perched on the edge of an escarpment on the plateau…
The Richat Structure (Eye of the Sahara)
In the middle of the Adrar plateau, in north-western Mauritania, a giant circle spreads across the sand as if someone had…
Azougui
A dynasty set out from here. Azougui is an ancient oasis town and a major archaeological site in the Adrar massif, known…
The Ben Amira Monolith
A single block of rock rising out of the plain, with nothing around it. Ben Amira — also written Ben Amera — is a monolithic…
Atar and the Adrar
Atar is where the journey starts. Capital of the Adrar region, 435 kilometres from Nouakchott, the town sits atop the Adrar…
Tanouchert Oasis
There are easy ways to travel from Chinguetti to Ouadane and back. And then there is Tanouchert. But the detour south of…
Erg Amatlich
"Set your tents apart, bring your hearts together," says a Saharan proverb. The Amatlich is a long, narrow dune belt of…
Selected journeys
Trips passing here
10 days
Grand Sahara Expedition in Mauritania — 10 Days: Nouakchott to the Iron Ore Train and Nouadhibou
8 days
Sahara & Iron Ore Train Expedition — 8 Days from Dakhla
11 days
Sahara, Iron Ore Train & Atlantic Coast — 11 Days in Mauritania
4 days
Mauritania Adventure — 4 Days: Oases of the Adrar and the Legendary Desert Train
16 days
The Grand Mauritania Tour — 16 Days by 4x4: Four UNESCO Cities, the Eye of the Sahara and Saharan Crocodiles
8 days
Adrar Camel Trek — 8 Days: The Erg Ouarane and the Zarga Mountain
14 days