Mauritania
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Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
The embassy in Rabat, Morocco no longer issues visas, you have to go to the consulate in Casablanca. You need 2 photos, a copy of the first 3 pages of your passport (there is a copy kiosk nearby) and Dh100 (about 10 euro). The visa is valid for one month from the day of issue. The fact that the visa mentions, "place d'entree: aeroport Nouakchott", is only for administrative reasons and gives no problems if you enter Mauritania by land. If you come between 9am and 10.30am you can pick up the visa the same day at 2pm.
Hans Rossel, Belgium (Sep 03)
The situation in regard to crossing the Moroccan and Mauritanian border has changed for the better. There is now no need to get a permit from the military in Dakhla and they have done away with military escorts. Travellers are now free to cross the border on any day without a military escort. The restriction of travel only on Tuesdays and Fridays has also been done away with.
The road on the Moroccan side is paved all the way to the border checkpoint, which consists of two huts separated by about 50m and overlooked by a military camp. At the first hut the papers of your vehicle are checked and at the second hut your passport is stamped. From there you proceed to the Mauritanian border post on paved road half of the way and the other half on gravel. The distance between the two points is about 5km. Here the military take down your personal details, especially your occupation. From here you travel over desert sand for another 5km to the immigration check point which is also two huts about 50m apart and you have the papers of your vehicle checked before proceeding to the next hut to have your passport stamped. At this location there are a number of guides offering their services. We paid 200 euro for a guide to bring our convoy of three vehicles to Nouakchott plus 50 euro because one of the vehicles was a truck.
It is always advisable to travel in convoy so that you can help each other. Vehicles have to be equipped with steel plates to get them out of sand traps. On softer sand the tyre pressure of the vehicles should be lowered to present a larger contact area and on harder ground the tyres should be pumped up again. If travelling at 80km/hr, you could cover the distance to Nouakchott with only one night in the desert.
There is also evidence that it is now possible to drive north from Mauritania to Morocco. On our way south we met a German and a Swiss person at Guergguarat, on the Moroccan side of the border who had just driven north from Mauritania and they had travelled north without a guide.
Foong Swee Kong, Singapore (May 03)
The border crossing at Rosso is a bit of a nightmare. Listen to no-one and don't change too much money as you'll be ripped off. You need UM100 or CFA500 for the boat as a foot passenger. Keep an eye on your stuff too.
Nigel Canavan, UK (May 03)
Currency declaration forms are still in use and they DO check them. Make sure you put money aside if you're going to change on the black market. If anything is wrong on the way out they'll want "backshish", or as they say "cadeau"!
Laura Higgins, UK Feb 03)
Mauritania visa: a transit visa for 5 days was obtained in the French Embassy in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It was ready the same day for CFA6000.
Patrizio Luntini, Italy (Feb 03)
Mauritania now proudly boasts an embassy with visa services in London. Helpfully, the application form can be downloaded from the internet.
Christopher Ruane, UK (Nov 02)
Travel Tips
Mauritania is still mainly a cash only country. We did not see any ATM's. For cash and TC's you get the best rates in Nouakchott. In Nouadhibou it is quite difficult to change travellers cheques; they try to get up to 15% commission, so you need to bargain a bit on that or change your TC's in the capital. Except in a few serious exchange bureau's (not the ones in the market!) in Nouakchott, bargaining on rates seems to be necessary.
High season is from October to March; at that time about 20 Western overland-jeeps a day cross into Mauritania from Morocco plus there are a number of charter flight arrivals. During the summer months there are almost no tourists (less than 1 overland car a day crosses the border). Even in touristy Chinguetti you don't see any other tourists. We had to admit that, unless you stay the whole time in an air-conditioned overland vehicle, the temperatures of 45-50 degrees (day and night) combined with the hot wind in the inner country are not made for average humans like us. A camel ride seemed simply not possible in this heat, even the Mauritanian organisers proposed a siesta between 10am and 5pm. On the coast, fortunately, the climate is a lot better. In Nouakchott and Nouadhibou it was very windy and around 25 degrees when we were there in June. This makes the beach-route very possible in summer.
Tap water is very drinkable, especially in the desert where it comes from springs. Unfortunately the water that runs out of the tap in the desert is very often 50 degrees, so you have to put it in the freezer of the guesthouse to make it drinkable.
It is very easy to find camel meat in Mauritania, and in a lot of places in the desert, camel meat with onions and couscous or rice will be about the only thing available. Try to buy all the vegetables you can find at the market to add some vitamins to your meal, or take vitamin tablets. Outside the main cities, restaurants are very rare so you will mostly end up eating in your guesthouse. Ask them to prepare camel steak and to use as many different vegetables as possible. If you intend to stay for a longer time in the country (say 1 month), it could be interesting to take a camp cooking stove with you. The local food gets very boring and unhealthy after a while and it is easy to cook outside in most guesthouses.
Hans Rossel, Belgium (Sep 03)
Moving About
There are no buses; most transport is with Toyota Hilux. Always take double the amount of water than you expect to need because all too often these cars have a breakdown somewhere along the way. It is also burning hot in summer and the strong hot wind dries you out even more. The strong wind also makes it impossible to keep your hat on, so it is better to use a nomad-scarf like everybody else. Try to be as early as possible at the jeep station. Most transport leaves around 9am, but if you are early you can still reserve a place inside the car. In winter it might be agreeable in the open trunk as well, but in summer the heat is really too much. The transport of goods has priority above passengers, which means that the trunk is firstly fully loaded with a mountain of boxes and bags, before about 10 passengers can finally take their place on the net which keeps the goods inside. Transport prices are fixed, and they never tried to cheat us, but the extra "luggage fee", which is some kind of a tip for the driver, is negotiable.
The train from Nouadhibou to Choum is the "longest train in the world". It transports iron ore from Zouerat to Nouadhibou and can be up to 2.5km long. There are lots of bucket wagons for the ore but just one passenger wagon. There are 3 trains a day, but only the one at 14.30 takes passengers (maybe if you have to transport your car as well, you can take another train). It is 460km/12hrs from Nouadhibou to Choum and you can follow the distance on milestones along the track. Sit at the entrance of the wagon for the nice views, there are no doors anyway.
1st and 2nd class: apparently you have to be lucky to get in these classes. The reports I had read from people having done the trip in 2002, were describing the nice views of the desert through the windows.
Our wagon (in summer 2003) had NO windows (except tiny holes which were closed because it was too cold). For first class there were four, very run down and basic "beds" in a separate part of the wagon, but don't expect any door to that little room. As there are only four places you should book in advance, as early as possible. In second class (the rest of the wagon) there were two long wooden benches on the sides, but as we probably were with about 150 people in the wagon the floor was filled with carpets and bodies lying everywhere like worms. It's definitely not recommended for women alone, because it is very dark in the wagon (there is no light, except for some candles up to midnight for playing cards and thereafter just a sporadic flash of a torch) and Mauritanian hands know their way, if you don't resist loudly. My girlfriend had a scarf on and introduced me as her "husband" when she talked with men and had no problems. The girl of a British couple, on the contrary, had a very hard night keeping hands away in the dark.
3rd class: you can also get (for free and without a reservation!) a place in one of the many open (like huge dirty steel buckets) wagons which transport the iron ore. A few hundred Mauritanians did so when we were there. They grouped themselves along the railway in small groups, waiting for the wagon to stop in front of them. Be prepared for a very cold night, even in summer, and take a good long scarf to wrap around your face to prevent you from inhaling too much of the iron-ore dust. A good protective plastic bag for your backpack can also be helpful, as can a sleeping mat or carpet and a torch. As our second class wagon was too full and there were no windows anyway, we would probably have had a better time in one of these iron buckets.
Normally the train should leave at 2.30pm, but it can be delayed; we left at 6pm. If the train which comes from Zouerat has arrived late, and is still unloading, the ticket seller can predict quite precisely when it will leave. If the train leaves on time you arrive in Choum at 2.30am, when it is nice and fresh. Trucks await the train to bring you to Atar. Our train was late, which meant that we had to sleep the whole night like worms in the wagon and we arrived at 7.30am in Choum. We waited until the truck was loaded with goods and finally left at 10am. By then my thermometer indicated 48°C in the shadow.
As there are not enough places in 2nd class, the whole mass attacks the train even before it has come to a halt. I tried to get in as the others did, but there was an enormous pulling and pushing and shouting. Finally a fat Mauritanian woman managed to pull me by the neck and pushed me with her ass, off the stairs back on the sand. Afterwards all this hassle was of no use, with 150 passengers in the wagon nobody had space anyway. The people who had occupied a space on a bench found out that this is not the best position to sleep; it's better to throw a carpet on the ground and occupy a bit of floor space. Fortunately the train stops about every two hours to let some passengers off, so after a while you will have more space.
There are several strategies to get a nicer departure than I had. If you prefer to take it easy, don't worry about finding a seat (it did not make any difference in our case anyway), but take some nice pictures and film of the crowd fighting to get on, and get on yourself in the very end, when everything has cooled down. If you are fast and energetic, get on before the others. As most Mauritanians have a lot of luggage you can run faster than them. As soon you see the train on the horizon you should head for the last wagon (which is the passenger wagon) and get on before the train has come to a halt. When it has stopped it is too late! Maybe check first if it is the wagon with the big windows or not. If it is our dark wagon, I don't see any reason to hurry to get on, you will lie on the floor like worms anyway.
Hans Rossel, Belgium (Sep 03)
Noaukchott to Nouadhibou: the taxi (jeep) cost UM5500. It's just a great vibe though it's a long and hard way. There are no real roads linking the two cities and the jeep goes through the Sahara. I had to sit in the last seat and I was flying all the time. It takes more or less one day and one night driving (24 hours). The driver decided to stop for 8 hours, waiting for the low tide and then drove directly on the beach. I was completely covered with sand. A turban is strongly recommended.
Nouadhibou to Dhakla takes 12 hours in a taxi (jeep) for UM11,500. We had to stop at the border which closes at 6pm and overnight in the desert. There were tea ceremonies in abandoned cars used like shelters in a kind of Mad Max scenario; people sleeping in circle under the veils covering each other; the wind and the sky full of stars. It was unforgettable! The way from Mauritania to Western Sahara overland is open!
Patrizio Luntini, Italy (Feb 03)
It can be quite problematic for male travellers to sit by female Mauritanian passengers. I was often asked to move seat on account of this. And when unavoidable I did end up sitting beside a lady in such a voyage, she tutted loudly every time I moved even a fraction!
Christopher Ruane, UK (Nov 02)
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