Dec 26 – Jan 2 | New Year’s Eve on the Train

We leave Nouakchott early and head north into the Adrar desert. The drive takes around 5 hours but there's plenty to see along the way, we stop whenever something catches your eye. Around midday we pull over for lunch under an acacia tree, one of the few trees you'll find out here and the only shade for miles. From there it's another 2 hours until Azoueiga rises in front of you. At over 70 metres, this is the highest sand dune in Mauritania and one of the most impressive in the entire Sahara. While you head up for the sunset, the team is back at camp doing the hard work, setting up your folding beds, portable toilets and solar showers, and getting dinner started. By the time you're back, camp is set, dinner is ready and the fire is going.  After dinner, fall asleep to the sound of nothing, just desert silence and a million stars above.

• Early morning drive through the northern desert
• Lunch under an acacia tree in the middle of nowhere
• Arrive at Mauritania's highest sand dune
• Climb to the top for the sunset
• Come back to a ready camp, hot meal and a fire going
• Sleep under the stars

Before we leave camp, breakfast is served, fresh coffee, traditional Mauritanian eggs and homemade bread while the desert is still cool and quiet. Before we head out, we make a quick stop at a local family who live just near the dunes. They welcome us in, pour the tea, and bring out snacks (just genuine desert hospitality)  From there it's around 3 hours to Terjit, passing through Mhaireth on the way, one of the largest oases in the entire Adrar region. When we arrive at Terjit the change is immediate. The temperature drops, and suddenly there are palms and running water everywhere. This is the only place in the entire Adrar region with naturally flowing water, and the natural pool here is one of the only places in Mauritania where you can actually swim in fresh water. While you cool off in the pool, the chef gets lunch ready in the shade. After lunch there's time to explore, walk through the palms, or just sit and do nothing, which is harder than it sounds in a place this beautiful. We spend the night right in the oasis, tucked between the palms.

• Breakfast around the fire before we head out
• Morning visit with a local family for tea and snacks
• Drive through Mhaireth (one of the largest oases in the Adrar)
• Arrive at Terjit and swim in the natural pool
• Lunch in the shade by the chef
• Night in the oasis between the palms

We leave Terjit in the morning and make our way to Ouadane, about a 4 hour drive through open desert, with a stop at the Eye of the Sahara along the way. The Richat Structure, also known as the Eye of the Sahara, is a giant circular rock formation about 40km wide that is visible from space. From the ground it's hard to fully understand the size of it (that's what makes it so strange and impressive). We arrive in Ouadane for lunch. This is where you try Leksour, a traditional lamb stew served over millet pancakes, eaten the local way: roll the pancake around the stew and eat with your right hand. Your guide will show you how it's done. After lunch we head into the old town of Ouadane, a UNESCO World Heritage site founded in 1147. We're joined by a local elder who has lived here his whole life and knows every corner of this place. He walks us through the stone streets, sharing the history of the town, your guide translates as he speaks. It's one of those moments where you really feel how old this place is. We stay the night at Zaida's guesthouse, the most loved place to stay in Ouadane. Clean rooms, A/C, Starlink wifi, and a lady who makes you feel right at home.

• Morning drive through the desert to the Eye of the Sahara
• Walk around one of the most mysterious geological wonders on earth
• Arrive in Ouadane for a traditional Leksour lunch
• Explore the UNESCO old town with a local elder
• Night at Zaida's guesthouse, A/C, Starlink and a warm welcome

We leave Ouadane in the morning and drive about 2 hours to Chinguetti, Islam's 7th holiest city and a place that gave the whole country its name for centuries. First stop is the library. Chinguetti has some of the rarest Islamic manuscripts in the world, some dating back to the 11th century, covering astronomy, poetry, law and religion. We meet the family keeper, a man whose ancestors have been protecting these books for generations. He opens the manuscripts for us and tells us the stories behind them. You're looking at books that have survived the Sahara for over 800 years. From there we walk through the old town with our guide, the narrow stone streets, the ancient mosque, and the dunes that are slowly creeping in from every side. In the afternoon, the dunes outside of Chinguetti are waiting. These are some of the most perfect dunes in all of Mauritania, smooth, massive, and endless in every direction. We climb up for the sunset, which from up there is something you won't forget. We check in to our guesthouse by Eden, clean rooms with A/C in each one. After dinner, the evening comes alive. A griot musician performs around the fire, the tidinit, the guitar, a women's band on the ardin harp, and dancers. This is the same music you'd hear at a Mauritanian wedding, and it is loud, joyful and completely alive.

• 2 hour drive from Ouadane to Chinguetti
• Visit the ancient library and meet the family manuscript keeper
• Walk through the old town and the historic mosque
• Climb the dunes outside the city for the sunset
• Check in to the guesthouse, A/C in every room
• Dinner then live griot music, dancing and fire under the desert sky

This is the big one. We leave Chinguetti in the morning and drive through the Adrar canyon pass, one of the most dramatic stretches of road in the country, with cliffs and rock walls on both sides. We stop in Atar to stock up. Grab snacks, anything you need from the supermarket, and anything you want for the train, this is your last chance before the desert takes over completely. From Atar we head to the Choum Tunnel, a 2km tunnel drilled through solid granite in the 1960s because the French refused to negotiate with Spain over crossing Western Sahara. The train ran through it for decades, then in 1991 they simply rerouted the track through Western Sahara anyway. The tunnel now sits empty in the desert, completely abandoned. We stop here for lunch. Then we drive to Ben Amera. the largest single rock in Africa and the second largest in the world, only smaller than Uluru in Australia. It rises 633 metres straight out of flat desert with nothing around it. There are no words for how big this thing is until you're standing in front of it. We stay in close contact with the train operator throughout the day, the train has no fixed schedule, so we track it and position ourselves at the right stop when the time comes. When it arrives, you climb up and leave everything you don't want covered in iron ore dust with the drivers. The ride to Nouadhibou takes around 10 to 12 hours through the night. If you'd prefer to skip the train, you are more than welcome to camp with the team near the dunes and drive to Nouadhibou the next morning.

• Morning drive through the Adrar canyon pass
• Stop in Atar to stock up on snacks and supplies
• Visit the abandoned Choum Tunnel, lunch stop
• Stand in front of the world's 2nd largest rock, Ben Amera
• Track the train and board when it arrives
• 10 to 12 hours across the Sahara through the night
• Option to skip the train and camp with the team instead

You arrive in Nouadhibou covered in iron ore dust, tired, and ready for a real bed. That's exactly what's waiting for you. Your drivers head out ahead of you (Part by road, part by rail) and they'll be at the station to pick you up the moment you step off. First stop is the hotel. Hot shower, clean clothes, and breakfast. Take your time. There is no rush today and no schedule to follow, that was earned last night. In the afternoon we drive out to Cap Blanc. We visit the nature reserve and its information centre about the Mediterranean monk seal, one of the rarest animals on earth, fewer than 500 left in the world. You might get lucky and spot one, but no promises, they're wild and hard to find. Right next to it stands the old lighthouse built in 1910, sitting just a few metres from the Western Sahara border. In the evening we go out to a restaurant as a group, good food, cold drinks, and a chance to sit together and talk about everything that just happened over the past week. The kind of dinner where stories come out.

• Your team already there when the train pulls in
• First real shower in days, take your time
• No rush, no plans until you're ready
• Cap Blanc reserve, rare monk seal habitat and old lighthouse
• Fewer than 500 Mediterranean monk seals left in the world
• Evening out as a group, the best kind of last dinner

We leave Nouadhibou in the morning and drive 5 hours south back to Nouakchott. Along the way we stop at Tiwilit, one of the only places in Mauritania where the Sahara sand dunes drop directly into the Atlantic Ocean. The chef sets up lunch on the beach while you swim. It's a strange and beautiful place to have your last meal in the desert. From there it's about an hour to Nouakchott. We stop at the camel market, one of the largest in Africa, then head to Port de Pêche to catch the sunset over the water before checking into the hotel. Back at the hotel, drop your things and rest for a bit. In the evening we meet one last time for our farewell dinner, good food, good company, and we'd love to hear what you thought (Your honest feedback is what allows us to keep running tours at this level). Your room is booked until January 3rd regardless of when your flight is, so whether you fly that night or the next day, you're covered.

• 5 hour drive from Nouadhibou back to Nouakchott
• Stop at Tiwilit, where the Sahara drops into the Atlantic
• Swim and lunch on the beach by the chef
• Camel market visit in Nouakchott
• Sunset at Port de Pêche
• Hotel check-in, rest before the evening
• Farewell dinner at Fantazia Restaurant, stories, feedback and a proper goodbye.
• Room covered until January 4th, no stress on checkout