The train runs every single day, so don’t lose hope. This isn’t even a town, just a few mudbrick buildings and a gathering of people who’ll be surprised to see you.įrom Choum, you wait around until around 6 pm/sunset by the train tracks. Once you’re done in Atar, the following morning, you can take an off-road, pretty uncomfortable 4X4 ride to a dusty little outpost called Choum. Spend a couple of days there, sleep under the stars in the Sahara, amazing. If you’re going all the way to Zouerat (I wouldn’t recommend it) then add another 5 hours or so Step 1: First you need to get to Choum (including a google map)įrom the capital of Mauritania, Nouakchott, you can take a shared taxi all the way out to the depths of the Sahara to a quaint little town called Atar. From Choum to/from Nouadhibou, the journey takes roughly 14 hours.
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And each evening, the train now full of iron ore, makes the 700km journey back to Nouadhibou. So each morning an empty train runs from Nouadhibou on the West coast of Mauritania to the iron ore mines at Zouerat, via Choum/Atar. Despite Mauritania being quite poor, they are rich in natural minerals with Iron Ore being one of the largest exports. And it’s the longest train in the world at 2.5km long. The train journey itself runs every single day of the yea. It’s hard on the body, it’s cold, it’s dirty, but this is what we travel for. It’ll be one of the best travel experiences of your life.
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Mauritania train map How to Ride the Mauritania Iron Ore train through the Saharaįirst of all, anyone can do it if they have enough of the travelers’ spirit. The only reason to go further than that would be if you work in the iron ores mines at the end of the line. Generally speaking, most Mauritanians only ride the train to Choum, at roughly the halfway point. From Nouadhibou, on the coast, to M’Haoudat deep in the Sahara Desert. In the image below you can see the single-track iron ore train running right across the top of Mauritania. It’s in Choum where you will either get on the train and ride it to Noouadhibou, or vice-versa. The last stop before the mining town of Zouerat is a town called Choum. They generally come from Arab-Berber ethnicity, with some west Africans there now too.īut where is the Mauritanian train? It runs from the Nouadhibou all the way to Zouerat, about 700km deep into the Sahara Desert. The people are lovely, and not used to tourism at all. This is largely due to the fact it’s mostly desert, the Sahara desert. Only 4m people live in Mauritania, despite it being huge. Me riding the Iron Ore train across the Sahara Where is the Iron Ore Train In Mauritania?