Things to do in Mauritania

Wander the labyrinthine, sand-swept alleys of this UNESCO-listed medieval trading post, home to ancient libraries filled with priceless Islamic manuscripts.

Stand atop the cliffside ruins of a once-thriving caravan city, with panoramic views over the endless Sahara and a palpable sense of vanished grandeur.

Gaze upon the vast, swirling 'Eye of the Sahara', a deeply eroded geological dome so immense it was once mistaken for a meteor crater.

Hop aboard one of the world's longest and heaviest trains, travelling atop tonnes of iron ore through a raw, remote desert landscape from Nouadhibou to Zouérate.

Enter a UNESCO World Heritage wetland where millions of migratory birds, including vast flocks of flamingos, feed in the shallow coastal waters against a backdrop of desert islands.

Immerse yourself in the organised chaos of Nouakchott's bustling fishing port as brightly painted pirogues unload their catch and traders shout over glistening heaps of fish.

Embark on a traditional camel caravan into the singing sand dunes, following ancient trade routes as the silence of the deep desert unfolds around you.

Discover a hidden paradise of freshwater springs and date palms wedged in a narrow gorge, offering a sublime natural pool beneath a star-studded sky.

Visit the remote, ochre-hued ksar where ornate geometric patterns adorn dry-stone houses, a silent testament to a prosperous medieval trans-Saharan trading culture.

Slide down towering, apricot-coloured slipfaces on a sandboard, with the ancient Chinguetti mosque minaret poking from the sands far below.

Search for ancient petroglyphs and painted cattle in rock shelters scattered across a dramatic sandstone plateau, telling stories from a greener Sahara millennia ago.

Approach one of Africa's largest monoliths, a colossal granite block rising abrupt from the empty desert, dwarfing everything around it.

Trace the crumbling foundations of a vanished 9th-century Berber town that once controlled the salt and gold trade, with pottery shards still strewn across the ground.

Capture the distinctive square minaret and split-palm door of this centuries-old dry-stone mosque, a symbol of Mauritanian Islamic heritage emerging from the sand.

Witness a surreal coastline littered with hundreds of rusting, abandoned shipwrecks, silently rotting in the shallow waters against a seabird-filled sky.

Take a traditional lancha boat to a low-lying island where thousands of white pelicans, terns and gulls blanket the sand during breeding season inside Banc d'Arguin.

Accept the unmissable ritual of sickly-sweet green tea poured theatrically from a height, each of the three glasses symbolising life, love and death.

Trek through a dramatic gorge that opens suddenly onto a lush, spring-fed paradise of date palms and songbirds, hidden deep in the Adrar mountains.

Hear the hypnotic melodies of a hereditary musician reciting epic genealogies and history on a kora or tidinit, the heartbeat of Mauritanian oral culture.

Sail to a tiny island that once anchored the first European overseas fort, a windswept speck of stone walls and cannons overlooking rich fishing grounds.

Step inside the capital's gleaming white landmark, built with Saudi funding, whose cavernous prayer hall and tall minaret dominate the city centre skyline.

Spend the night on a sandy erg with no light pollution, watching the Milky Way arch over the silhouette of the ruined city's gate.

Join the dusty, bleating morning spectacle where herders from the countryside trade goats, sheep and camels in a lively display of traditional commerce.

Seek out a mysterious, half-collapsed fortified village now almost swallowed by relentless dunes, a ghost ksar that feels frozen in time.

Peer into a permanent rock pool deep in the Tagant canyon that shelters one of the last remnant populations of Nile crocodiles in the Sahara.