Travelogues

MAURITANIA - Adrar

The Adrar Region is one of the main attractions in Mauritania. Adrar is a special desert of vast vistas colored black, ochre or tan; gentle, undulating, curving dunes among which nestle green oases lined with palms, mud brick houses and nomad tents; dramatic rugged mountains black and burnt; rocky flat plateaux broken by immense mesas of black and green rock against which dunes have begun to pile up, curve by curve.

The Guelb er Richat is in the Adrar desert, about two hours drive North-West to Ouadane.

The Guelb er Richat is the largest guelb in Mauritania with a diameter of about 50 km.
What has caused this circular depression in nature is uncertain.
Some speculations say it is the remains of a grand meteorite impact, other speculations say it is caused by magmatic rise.
The dimensions of the guelb are so big that it is easily visible from space, and is sometimes called "The Eye of Africa".
Standing on ground, it is often quite possible lose the perspective of the dimensions.
Its circular shape is slightly difficult to see, even if the sides of the guelb at many points stand as tall as 200 metres above the lowest points.

Adrar is also a desert alive with towns and people. Towns in Adrar desert, like Chinguetti, Ouadane and Atar are in big oases surrounded by palms among rolling dunes.

The dark green of the big palms make a wonderful contrast with the desert colours and the mud brick of the houses.

One of the most beautiful and visited oases is Terjit, 60 km South from Atar. Two km far from the village, the water just runs down the rock until it gets the floor and forms amazing pools where one can swimming and bathing while the sun is strong in the desert. The rock formation where this spring is located makes it very fresh and calm.

Other beautiful oases are El Magder andi Taneuchert, more or less both between Chinguetti and Ouadane.

One of the more fascinating aspects of the Adrar is that the past was so much different from the present, with lakes and rivers, green valleys and hills, big cities and influential empires. This region has been inhabited since Neolithic times, and there is an abundance of remains to testify of this.

Lying on the sand surface are arrow heads, mortars and pestles, axe heads, grinding stones...all dating back many thousands of years.

In some oasis, like El Magder, are also interesting rock engravings.

The history of Mauritania is plenty of wars between nomads and tribes. During the colonialism, Portugueses and French built some forts. Nowadays these forts are just ruins. One of these is the Fort d'Agouedir, close to the Guelb er Richat, made by the Portugueses at the end of the 15th centyry. "Le Poste Claudel", the French fort of Chinguetti, was built in 1919. Now it's a hotel.

One of the most photographed forts in Adrar is Fort Saganne, but it's not a true fort! It was built in 1984 as a set for the movie by Alain Corneau, with Gérard Depardieu and Sophie Marceau. The fort is close to the Passe d'Amogjar, one of the most beautiful spots in Adrar. The Fort Saganne is yet ruined, so it can seem a real ancient French fort.