Africa
Sand-drowned caravan towns, an iron-ore train and a wild Atlantic coast.
Mauritania is where the Sahara meets the Atlantic. Inland, the Adrar Plateau hides the old caravan towns of Chinguetti and Ouadane, their stone libraries half-buried by dunes, alongside palm oases such as Terjit and the vast rings of the Richat Structure. On the coast, Banc d'Arguin National Park shelters huge flocks of migrating birds and Imraguen fishing villages.
This is desert travel at its most elemental: long drives, nights in tents, sweet mint tea poured from a height and grilled fish in Nouadhibou. The iron-ore train from Zouérat to the coast, one of the longest in the world, draws adventurous travellers. Some remote border areas carry official warnings, so check your government's advice. Go between November and February; summer heat inland is extreme.
January, February, November, December.