Countrywide advisory (Government of Canada)
Reconsider travelAvoid non-essential travel (with regional advisories) Regional advisories apply; see the source for zone-level detail.
Government of Canada · checked 26 Jul 2026
Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)Western Africa
MauritaniaMauritania stretches from the Sahara to the Atlantic with Islamic culture, salt mines, and vast empty spaces. Vast, remote, and challenging.
✦Mauritania's Banc d'Arguin is a UNESCO site where thousands of flamingos gather in lagoons surrounded by nothing but sand and sea.
✦The Iron Train of Mauritania is one of the longest and heaviest trains in the world, carrying ore from the deep Sahara.
✦Mauritanian scholars created one of Islam's most respected theological schools, the Al-Azhar's North African equivalent.
UNESCO marine reserve and one of the world's great birdwatching sites, with thousands of migratory birds.
Medieval Islamic trading town in the Sahara, ancient manuscripts and blue-roofed buildings.
Another ancient Saharan trading post with fortress ruins and desert landscapes.
Mauritania is a land of extremes: the Sahara dominates the interior, while the Atlantic coast offers fishing villages and marine reserves. The population is small and concentrated in the south and west. Nouakchott's modernity contrasts with the nomadic traditions of the interior. The country is Islamic, Arabic-speaking, and deeply influenced by Saharan culture. What makes Mauritania extraordinary is its emptiness and authenticity. Few tourists venture here, which means encounters are genuine and the landscape feels untouched. The Banc d'Arguin marine reserve is one of Africa's greatest birdwatching sites. The Chinguetti and Ouadane are medieval Islamic towns. Infrastructure is minimal; travel requires patience and flexibility. The country feels like frontier Africa in a way few places do.
Last checked 26 Jul 2026
Every zone below is rated against a named government advisory and carries the date we last read it. Most of any country is calmer than its headlines.
Avoid non-essential travel (with regional advisories) Regional advisories apply; see the source for zone-level detail.
Government of Canada · checked 26 Jul 2026
Northern desert regions have reported kidnapping of foreigners by armed groups. Most advisories recommend against travel unless arranged through established desert tour operators.
Avoid: Exercise extreme caution in Atar, Chinguetti, Ouadane. Avoid traveling independently in the desert.
UK FCDO · checked 6 Jul 2026
Nouakchott is the safest zone, with reasonable security for careful visitors. Theft and robbery occur; avoid isolated areas and night travel.
Avoid: Avoid traveling alone at night, avoid demonstrations, avoid slums (Boujmaa and suburbs).
UK FCDO · checked 6 Jul 2026
The southern regions along the Senegal border are reasonably safe. Infrastructure is basic but travel is possible with local guides.
UK FCDO · checked 6 Jul 2026
The marine reserve and coastal area are peaceful and safe. Access is via organized tours; independent travel is not practical.
UK FCDO · checked 6 Jul 2026
Police
117
Police Nationale
Ambulance
101
National ambulance line
Fire
118
Protection Civile, fire
Hospital
No national number
Clinique Ibn Sina
Mauritania is a country the Sahara mostly owns. Around ninety percent of its territory lies inside the desert, and the land rises out of that flatness only twice, in the low stone plateaus of the Adrar and the Tagant, which sit at the centre of the country like two weathered tables. In the far south, the Senegal River draws a green line across the sand, a narrow valley of alluvial soil known locally as the Chemama, where the country's only reliable farmland survives. On the Atlantic edge the coast turns into something else entirely, the Banc d'Arguin, a shifting bank of dunes and shallow water where the desert meets the ocean and the meeting produces one of the richest bird habitats in West Africa. It was not always this dry. Rock art scattered across the highlands of the Adrar, recorded and published since the 1940s around sites such as Tichitt and Oualata, shows elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses and crocodiles moving through a landscape that no longer exists here. Before roughly five thousand years ago the Sahara held oak and cedar in its highlands and savanna grassland below, threaded with shallow lakes and braided rivers where people fished, herded cattle and hunted. ...
The full history, the peoples, and pieces written by people from hereNouakchott is a city of the Sahara, where sand meets modernity in half-finished architecture, markets that smell of spices and salt, and a thin veil of urbanization over desert living. Life here moves to the rhythms of Islam and heat: the call to prayer marks the day, businesses close for the hottest hours, and nights cool into perfection. The Mauritanian people are known for their sharp wit, hospitality, and sardonic humor about their harsh land. Trade and fishing sustain the economy, and you see it in the port bustling with activity and boats. Mauritania feels raw and unfiltered, a place where tourism is scarce and visitors are genuine anomalies, which means encounters with locals are authentic and often surprising. The desert dominates everything: it shapes how people think, move, and survive.
Festivals and moments worth timing a trip around.
Mauritania celebrates its independence from France with national ceremonies, music, and public gatherings. The day reflects pride in national sovereignty and Mauritanian identity.
Mauritania's Muslim population celebrates with prayers, feasts, and family gatherings. Streets fill with people in new clothes, and traditional dishes are prepared in homes and markets.
The holy month sees fasting during daylight and vibrant evening gatherings. Markets stay open late, and communities gather for iftar (breaking the fast) meals after sunset.
The cooler, dry months make desert travel feasible. Visitors explore ancient caravan cities and Saharan landscapes with local guides, experiencing nomadic culture and desert traditions.
Before you go
You have the zones as they stand today, and they do move, so when one in Mauritania changes rating or an advisory we cite is rewritten, we will tell you. That is the only reason we will write.
