Islamic Republic of Mauritania (map) is a country in Northwest Africa. Approximately 90% of Mauritania’s land is within the Sahara. The capital and largest city is *Nouakchott (map), located on the Atlantic coast.
It is of course no wonder that the main attractions for most tourists are the desert in *Adrar and *Tagant areas (around Atar), and the ocean in *Banc d’Arguin (a natural reserve with dunes ending in the sea, full of millions of birds and protected by UNESCO). The Mauritanian Adrar is probably exactly how you’ve always imagined the Sahara.
*Nouakchott
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The *Richat Structure (map), dubbed the “Eye of the Sahara”, is a formation of rock resembling concentric circles in the Adrar Plateau, near *Ouadane (map), west–central Mauritania.
Some governments advise against all non-essential travel to Mauritania and all travel to many parts of Mauritania due to the danger posed by extremist jihadist groups.