The checklist as a PDF
Entry, health, money, transport and safety, laid out for print, with their sources and verification date.
Mauritania
West Africa
Magnificent beaches, mountains, Sahara desert and cultures. Ancient ksour and the Atlantic environments of Banc d’Arguin.
- On the map
CapitalNouakchott
When to goNovember to May
Suggested length10 days min.
CurrencyMauritanian ouguiya / Mauritanian ouguiya
LanguagesArabic, French
The Viafro verdict
For whom, and for which trip.
An editorial bearing, with no percentage and no rating: our criteria are written down, and every “good to know” links to its source.
- For which trip
- Nouakchott · Adrar · Nouadhibou · Oualata · Terjit
- Best season
- November to May, from Nouakchott’s normals
- Length
- Allow at least 10 days for these 5 essentials, one stop every two or three days. (Viafro’s rule of thumb)
Best time to visit
Twelve months, in colour.
Hover or tap a month: its reading and its source appear. Bars measure rain, the figure is the capital’s mean maximum.
Ideal
November
Nouakchott: mean maximum 33 °C, 3 mm of rain · dry and mild.
- Mean maximum
- 33 °C
- Rain
- 3 mm
- Station
- Nouakchott
Source: Wikipedia (climate normals)
Before you go
The essentials, tab by tab.
Entry, health, safety, money and facts: dated official extracts, never paraphrased.
Visa, passport, customs
GOV.UK advice, written for British passport holders. French travellers: see France Diplomatie (https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/information-par-pays/mauritanie/conseils-aux-voyageurs-entree-sejour).
- To enter Mauritania, your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 6 months after the date you arrive. Check with your travel provider that your passport and other travel documents meet requirements. Renew your passport if you need to.
- From 5 January 2025, it is no longer possible to obtain a visa on arrival in Mauritania. Before you travel, you must apply for an e-visa online via the website of the Mauritanian National Agency for the Population Register and Secure Titles (Agence Nationale du Registre des Populations et des…
- To enter Mauritania, you must have a certificate to prove you’ve had a yellow fever vaccination if you’re coming from a country listed as a transmission risk.
Vaccines, malaria, water
This is not medical advice: talk to your doctor or an international vaccination centre before you travel.
- At least 8 weeks before your trip:
- Medical facilities are extremely limited in Mauritania, particularly outside Nouakchott and Nouadhibou, where lack of communications makes dealing with an emergency very difficult.
Per the ministries
Viafro gives no safety rating: here are the zones and advice published by the French ministry (in French) and the official extracts, with their dates.
Vigilance zones published by France Diplomatie (in French) · page updated on 28 Sept 2026 · see the official map
- Red · Zones formellement déconseillées (zone rouge)
Compte-tenu de la situation sécuritaire dégradée au Mali voisin, il est formellement déconseillé de s’approcher des frontières de ce pays.
Il est formellement déconseillé de se rendre dans les zones situées :
- Orange · Zones déconseillées sauf raison impérative (zone orange)
La zone frontalière de Nouadhibou jusqu’à Zouerate est déconseillée sauf raison impérative, à l’exception du poste frontière PK55. Il convient de ne pas quitter la piste sur cet itinéraire.
Il est déconseillé sauf raison impérative de se rendre :
- Yellow · Zones de vigilance renforcée (zone jaune)
Le reste du territoire est en vigilance renforcée.
Franchissement du PK55 : sur la piste traversant le « no man’s land » séparant le Sahara occidental de la Mauritanie, la circulation dans les deux sens est libre depuis le 1er janvier 2000, sous réserve d’accomplir les…
- Crime levels are moderate but steadily increasing. There have been burglaries in areas where foreign nationals live and robberies during daylight.
- There is a high threat of terrorist attack globally affecting UK interests and British nationals, including from groups and individuals who view the UK and British nationals as targets. Stay aware of your surroundings at all times.
What the country’s law provides
Photography, alcohol, drugs, relationships: the rules published by the ministries, quoted as they stand, without comment.
- It is illegal for Muslims and non-Muslims to import or consume alcohol and pork products in Mauritania. The Mauritanian authorities scan all baggage on arrival at Nouakchott International Airport and may search vehicles at land borders.
Currency
Mauritanian ouguiya / Mauritanian ouguiyaViafro publishes no price or budget range without a source: amounts will come from our own expenses recorded on the ground, dated and itemised.
- There are strict rules about goods you can take into or out of Mauritania. You must declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty.
Express card
Structured data from Wikidata and the CIA World Factbook, re-checked at every site update.
- Population · 2025
- 5,315,065
- Time zone
- −1 h from Paris
- Plugs and voltage
- Type C plugs · 220 V
- Driving side
- Driving on the right
- Calling code
- +222
- Languages
- Arabic, French
- Area
- 1,030,700 km²
- Highest point
- Kediet ej Jill, 915 m
- Main religions
- Muslim 100%
Getting there and around
Airports, roads and transport.
- NKCNouakchott–Oumtounsy International AirportNouakchott350,373 passengers
- FGDFderik AirportF'Derick
- AEOAioun el Atrouss AirportAïoun El Atrouss
- ATRAtar International AirportAtar
Direct flights from Paris are to be checked on the airport’s or airline’s website.
On the road
- If you are planning to drive in Mauritania, see information on driving abroad. You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Mauritania. If you still have a paper driving licence, you may need to update it to a photocard licence.
Destinations
The essentials.
Nouakchott
Nouakchott ( nwa(h)k-SHOT) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania.
Adrar
Adrar (Arabic: ولاية أدرار, romanized: Wilāyat Adrār) is a large administrative region in Mauritania, named for the Adrar Plateau.
Nouadhibou
Nouadhibou (; Arabic: نواذيبو, romanized: Nwādhībū, Hassaniyya: [nwaðiːbu] ), formerly named Port-Étienne, is the second largest city in Mauritania and serves as a major commercial center.
Oualata
Oualata or Walāta (Arabic: ولاتة) (also Biru in 17th century chronicles) is a small oasis town in southeast Mauritania, located at the eastern end of the Aoukar basin.
Terjit
Terjit (Arabic: ترجيت) is an oasis (in the proper sense: a desert spring or other water source), 45km by road south of Atar and popular with tourists in Mauritania.
Ji-Elle
Must-try food
Five dishes, and where to taste them.
Couscous
Couscous is a traditional North African dish of small steamed granules of rolled semolina that is often served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet, sorghum, bulgur, and other cereals are often cooked in much the same way in West Africa, and the resulting
Méchoui
Méchoui or meshwi is a whole sheep or lamb spit-roasted on a barbecue in Maghrebi cuisine. The word comes from the Arabic word šawā. This dish is common in North Africa. In Algeria and Morocco, the term méchoui "refers to the method of cooking a lamb or a shee
Thieboudienne
Ceebu or tiep is a traditional dish from Senegal that is also consumed in Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, The Gambia, and other West and Central African countries. It is the national dish in Senegal. The version of tiep called ceebu jën or chebu jen –
Caravane
Caravane, also known as Camelbert, is the brand name of a camel milk cheese produced in Mauritania by Tiviski, a company founded by Nancy Abeiderrhamane in 1987. A Brie-like cheese, its availability is largely limited to Mauritania, and as an export to neighbo
Zrig
Zrig is a fermented milk beverage of the west Sahara. A traditional drink of Mauritanian, Senegalese and Western Saharan cuisine, zrig is made from soured milk mixed with sugar and cut with water; regional variants include additions of flavorings and grains. Z
Culture and etiquette
Customs, dress, useful words.
- Salamسلامhello, peace
- Shukranشكراthank you
- Min fadlakمن فضلكplease
- Entries checked on Wiktionary.
- Religions: Muslim 100%.
- Languages: Arabic (official and national), Pular, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French.
Festivals and events
The big dates.
- National holiday
Independence Day, 28 November (1960) ; independence: 28 November 1960 (from France).
Fixed dates and moveable events, each with its source; moveable dates change every year and are to be checked on an official calendar.
Did you know?
Three things to remember.
The country’s highest point, Kediet ej Jill, reaches 915 m.
5,315,065 inhabitants in 2025 on 1,030,700 km², about 5 per km².
Independence on 28 November 1960 (from France).
Gallery
See it before you go.
Real photographs: free images under a verified licence and Viafro images. Never a generated image. Credits in the footer.
Share your trip with #viafro: the best images will join this gallery, with your credit.
Live, work, invest
A few key figures.
Sourced data (World Bank). No investment advice.
GDP per capita (current US$)2.2World Bank · 2025GDP growth4 %World Bank · 2025Inflation (consumer prices)1.5 %World Bank · 2025Unemployment (ILO estimate)10.3 %World Bank · 2025
World Bank data (World Development Indicators), consulted on 28 Oct 2026. Tourist arrivals are the latest year published.
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Sources and verification dates · 20 sources, checked on 28 Oct 2026
Travel advice · GOV.UK (FCDO)Entry, visa, safety: the official page, kept up to date by the ministry. Travel health · US CDCVaccines and precautions from a reference medical source. World Heritage · UNESCOThe country’s inscribed sites and tentative list. WikidataCapital and currency, verified structured data.
- Wikidata · Mauritania (Q1025)
- World Bank · World Development Indicators
- GOV.UK (FCDO) · Mauritania · Foreign travel advice · Entry requirements (page updated on 19 Oct 2026)
- GOV.UK (FCDO) · Mauritania · Foreign travel advice · Health (page updated on 19 Oct 2026)
- GOV.UK (FCDO) · Mauritania · Foreign travel advice · Safety and security (page updated on 19 Oct 2026)
- Wiktionary · Checked entries (Arabic)
- Wikipedia · Couscous
- Wikipedia · Méchoui
- Wikipedia · Thieboudienne
- Wikipedia · Caravane (fromage)
- Wikipedia · Zrig
- Wikipedia · Nouakchott
- Wikipedia · Adrar (Mauritanie)
- Wikipedia · Nouadhibou
- Wikipedia · Oualata
- Wikipedia · Terjit
- CIA World Factbook · Mauritania (public domain) (page updated on 29 Oct 2026)
- France Diplomatie · Mauritanie · Travel advice · Security (zones, in French) (page updated on 28 Sept 2026)
- Wikidata · Airports of the country (IATA code, traffic) (page updated on 29 Oct 2026)
- Wikipedia (climate normals) · Nouakchott · monthly normals (Deutscher Wetterdienst{{cite web) (page updated on 29 Oct 2026)
Information checked on 28 Oct 2026. Check the official source before you travel. Viafro gives no safety rating and publishes no price without a source.
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