Atlantic waves hitting Saharan sand dunes - stunning desert landscapes in the Banc DʼArguin National Park - Chinguetti and the Adrar mountains for one of the great Saharan seats of learning culture and history. The longest train in the world!

Chinguetti in the Adrar mountains - a World Heritage site, and like Djenné and Timbuktu in Mali, among the Saharaʼs great seats of learning with huge historical and cultural importance.

Chinguetti has been a settlement for thousands of years. A city was founded in 777 AD and over the following centuries it became a trading center for Berber tribes known as the Sanhadja Confederation. Soon after settling Chinguetti, the Sanhadja interacted with and subsequently were taken over by the Almoravids who controlled an empire stretching from present-day Senegal to southern Spain.

The city's stark unadorned architecture reflects the strict religious beliefs of the Almoravids, who spread the Malikite rite of Sunni throughout the Western Magreb.

The Banc Dʼ Arguin is a coastal desert reserve where sweeping desert plains
and the great dunes of the Sahara meet the Atlantic Ocean.

Cap Ferrat, Banc DʼArguin National Park You will spend 2-3 days in the park camping in the open desert, cooking on the open fire and bathing in the Atlantic ocean.

The Nouadibou- Choum - Zouerat railway has the longest train in the world (3.5kms) taking iron ore from the mines at Zouerat to the west coast port of Nouadibou. But whether by train or by 4x4 this route is fascinating, taking you through nomadic settlements,

For more specialist desert overland trips you can add a spectacular desert off piste journey to the impossible to pronounce Tidjikja.