Mauritania

The country is now on a well-travelled route for overlanders heading south from Europe to start African trips. But most burn through to the southern border, rather than sticking around. Those who do stay may marvel at stone-built oasis towns tucked into dune fields the size of small countries, admire wild geological oddities like the Richat Structure (reputedly home to the lost city of Atlantis), explore a nearly uninhabited, wind-battered coast where you can sail between end-of-the-earth fishing villages in the Banc d’Arguin National Park or spend the night camping and sipping strong green tea on a cliffside in a traditional bedouin-style tent.

Mauritania is huge, hot, dusty – and a blank spot on the map of all but the most diehard Africa travellers. If you’re willing to accept the truly scorching midday sun and the occasional mouthful of sand, your rewards will be the profound silence of nights under the desert stars and the warm hospitality and curiosity of everyday Mauritanians. Here you can sleep atop the world’s longest train (up to 3km long), camel-trek between the shifting dunes and lush oases of the Adrar, unfurl your sleeping mat under the stars, marvel at Chinguetti’s priceless manuscripts, soak up ancient rhythms along the Senegal River (where seasonal floods set the tempo), watch the Imraguen people fish co-operatively with dolphins, or get measured up for a billowing blue-and-white boubou or a melahfa outfit.

Rich in background context, packed with practical information from getting around to cultural etiquette, and exploring the whole country from the capital Nouakchott to remote regions, Bradt’s pioneering guidebook to Mauritania is the essential travel companion for an unforgettable journey.