A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Culture, Worklife and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. From Chinguetti walk along the trench in the dunes to the northwest. I definitely want to put this on my bucket list, especially just to see the stars at night while riding the train back to the coast. No ticket, no timetable, just hop on and hop off where you like. Since 1963, Mauritanias 2km-long Train du Desert has carried iron ore and brave passengers 704km across the Sahara Desert. Given the length of the train and the tiny scale of the settlements where it stops, a traveller could end up walking more than a kilometre to reach the station on arrival if they choose their wagon unwisely. Of all the 54 countries in Africa, Mauritania is one of the least visited. Did you manage to do it when you were there? Truly inspiring, thank you for sharing your experience . Great photos, and you have a great writing style to Johnny. Any article about whats worth to see in Atar and the area and how to get there?Ill have one day and a half only and trying to plan it properly.Some advice will be appreciated. The train also carries passengers to and from distant desert communities, cutting up to 500km off the inconvenient journey by road, which involves a lengthy detour south to Nouakchott, Mauritanias capital. Mauritania Railway, Photo Credit Macgregor. Buy train tickets for Mauritania at the local rail station. Josh joined me, we were laughing like children, Wow, were really doing this, THIS IS EPIC. 20.53%. What is the Iron Ore Train of Mauritania? There are no rail links with adjacent countries. Jump to: General, Art, Business, Computing, Medicine, Miscellaneous, Religion, Science, Slang, Sports, Tech, Phrases We found one dictionary that includes the word railway stations in mauritania: General (1 matching dictionary). Five years after the death of Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's long-awaited railroad project still hasn't made any headway. In Mauritania, it will be much more difficult but not impossible. The Mauritania train is used to transport iron ore from the mines in the depths of the Sahara, all the way to the west coast of Africa. Finally, it came to a halt, and judging by the speed of the old boys beside us, we had no time to lose. One of the longest trains in the world, traveling from Nouadhibou to Zouerat, is a length of 2.3km, and primarily carries iron ore but has passenger carriages at the end. Riding the Iron Ore train from Nouadhibou to Choum, Mauritania was one of the top travel experiences I have ever had. Required fields are marked *, Notify me of followup comments via e-mail, 6 This, in my opinion, is much, much cooler. Many Mauritanians choose like my companion Mike and I had done to forgo the overcrowded passenger carriage and ride second-class in the freight cars, free of charge. Get through a rather chilly, very loud, and pretty uncomfortable night. One last week in Mauritania with my last group. Ive travelled on it so many times, he exclaimed. Search for Train station and filter by rating, features, and reviews for Mauritania, area. Train station: There are 2 places in , Mauritania. Then brag about this experience for the rest of your life! Sunday, August 5, 2007 - Sudan, China To Build $630 Mln Mauritania Railway. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. I talk about how I did it, and how you can do it too, in my COMPLETELY FREE Ebook, all 20,000 words or so. Would you buy, Want something cool to do from Chiang Mai, Thailan, Mauritania trip is confirmed! 700 km. Its near Entkemkemt. It was stunning. It was a country in the way of a road that took me from Morocco's western Saharan state through to Senegal, The Gambia and beyond. Service varies by line. But, there are a few exceptions. Location, Contacts, Reviews Sudan's Danfodio Holding and China's Transtech Engineering have signed an agreement to build a 460 million euro ($634 million) railway linking Mauritania's capital Nouakchott with southern phosphate deposits at Bofal. Seconds later, the wagons were gone, leaving only clouds of slowly settling dust. Hey Kate, Its almost a struggle finding unique experiences like this. So in Atar, we visited some second-hand shops and bought two blankets, extra socks, a hoody and the best piece of all, a local jellaba and a headscarf. DATE. So you too can do the same thing. I always wanted to take this ride in Mauritania. Kandy. TrAIN tYPES National Trains One of the longest trains in the world, traveling from Nouadhibou to Zouerat, is a length of 2.3km, and primarily carries iron ore but has passenger carriages at the end. Iron Ore Train - Choum, Mauritania.jpg 5 059 3 373 ; 1,62 Mio. There is only one passenger car on this train and it is pretty rough too. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. From Choum, you wait around until around 6 pm/sunset by the train tracks. Consisting of more than 200 carriages and three or four locomotives, the train can reach over a mile (about 2.5 to three kilometers) in length and carry 17,000 tons of iron ore, making it one of. Or easier to stay in Chaum fo the day and then get the train back with out going to Atar. Its in Choum where you will either get on the train and ride it to Noouadhibou, or vice-versa. Africa Rail Tickets; Asia Rail Passes Asia Rail Tickets; Austria Rail Pass Austria Rail Tickets; Australia Rail Pass Australia Rail Tickets; There was an odd contradiction in passing through the vast spaces of the Sahara inside a windowless steel box just 8m by 4m. And each evening, the train now full of iron ore, makes the 700km journey back to Nouadhibou. Below is a list of mauritania railway words - that is, words related to mauritania railway. They disembarked roughly 400km inland at Choum, where a dirt road leads to the market town of Atar and the medieval holy city of Chinguetti. 10/20/2016. Figures sat atop the wagons ahead, facing into the wind, yelling to each other in Arabic above the deafening noise. The full journey, which runs along the border of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, takes around 20 hours and covers a total distance of 704km. We arrived in Choum around 13.30pm to discover that Choum was just a dusty settlement with a few mudbrick buildings and we were here for the next six hours or so, wonderful. Id so love to do it! Join more than three million BBC Travel fans by liking us onFacebook, or follow us onTwitterandInstagram. Just finish the process by putting in your email below and Ill mail it right out to you immediately. Im thinking of catching the train heading West to Choum, cycling to Atar-Chinguetti-Terjit-Akjoujt-Nouakchott, and then carrying on south to Dakar. railway stations in mauritania Arabic meaning, translation, pronunciation, synonyms and example sentences are provided by ichacha.net. hello sir, awesome article i was got shock after reading it extremly good and informative content.Thanks for sharing that type of information with us. Built to transport Mauritania's vast iron ore reserves, the Mauritania Railway is a 704-kilometer line that cuts through the Sahara Desert on its way from the mining center of Zouerat to the port city of Nouadhibou on Africa's Atlantic coast. More than 2km long, the train is made up of three or four diesel locomotives, one passenger carriage and between 200 and 210 freight cars. Did you end up doing it both ways? They generally come from Arab-Berber ethnicity, with some west Africans there now too. I picked out three figures, crouched around a charcoal heater; then herds of goats, standing motionless on the ore. Phu Chi Fa; How to Visit Thailands BEST Sunrise Spot! Water is important but food is almost impossible. This second train it actually had attached a normal passenger coach which was full, of course. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); I left Ireland 10 years ago for a gap year, worked out how to make money blogging, made over $1m and now Im never going back to the real world 9-5. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. - Operates over 100 railroads with over 15,000 miles of owned and leased track in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe. For free. You can sign-up here. Such major cities as Dublin and Limerick, housing several train stations, so you should be extra careful while planning your route. Railway stations in Mauritania: Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia [home, info] Words similar to railway stations in mauritania Amazing photos though. I can only imagine what that night sky looked like for you guys. Atar, West Africa. The sun rises and the temperature starts to warm up, Josh and I both get up and watch the last two hours of the journey, with the gorgeous morning glow, in amazement. The train is a lifeline for many of Mauritanias remote desert communities (Credit: Novarc Images/Alamy), Its one of the longest trains in the world, my father would tell us at the dinner table. Ive always wanted to do something like this. Home About Us Overview History . Then a whoosh, a roar and several gigantic locomotives shot by in the other direction. Just came back from Western Africa. The people are lovely, and not used to tourism at all. In the distance, jagged black mountains rose incongruously out of the endless flat sands. Abdurahman, a young man with striking Moorish features and an intense gaze, informed me solemnly that he and his friends were travelling to Zouerat to look for work. As the sun sank, some walked out into the desert to pray, while others sprawled on the soft sand. Soon the sky above us was glittering with stars. Rail Passes There are no rail passes available for Mauritania. Q802901. Georgian Railway - Operates freight and passenger rail service in Georgia. It then unloads the iron ore in the Mauritanian coastal town of Nouadhibou, and returns empty, back deep into the Sahara, to the area around Zouerat, 700km from the coast. Casablanca to Marrakech Trains | Timetable & Train Tickets Online Casablanca to Marrakech Trains Shortest travel time: 2 h 39 m Longest travel time: 2 h 46 m Lowest train ticket cost: $19 Avg. Your email address will not be published. This is awesome. Friendly, but I wasnt there for that mate, I was there to explore the awesome landscape and friendly culture . World Nomads offers many different travel insurance coverage plans to suit your trip best. I loved those two hours that morning, as much as Ive ever loved any of my manic travel experiences. north of Senegal, and south of Morocco. A mining center was constructed at Zouerate together with port facilities at Nouadhibou on the Atlantic coast, and both centers were linked by a railway line 700 km long. If youre going all the way to Zouerat (I wouldnt recommend it) then add another 5 hours or so. Travel and train hopping. [8] Roadway obstructions and hazards caused by drifting sand, animals, and poor roads often plague motorists.[8]. Getting Married in Thailand. sign up for the weekly bbc.com features newsletter. Just be at Choum at the right time. Your email address will not be published. Go and get it while you can. > BOOK HERE, If you are looking for a low budget accommodation, then go on www.hostelworld.com. If you want to know how to make extra bucks, search for: best adsense alternative Wrastains tools. Antwerpen-Centraal, considered one of the most beautiful stations in the world, was built between 1895 and 1905, and replaced the original terminus of the Brussels-Mechelen-Antwerp Railway. We love Africa and have spent a lot of time there, just not in the West. Continue with Recommended Cookies. It indeed sounds a great train journey on those iron ore carrying train. Off the rails. Did you see any women ? Sarasaviuyana. You can read my review here, and you can sign-up here! Location, Contacts, Reviews Schedules. 2 NH Locations: Landcare Stone Madbury, NH Stratham Hill Stone Stratham, NH Shipping Nationwide As for Algeria, I cant really say as Ive not been there before. I have no words to describe this experience and how exciting it sounds to me! With that, they ushered us further down the tracks so as not to lay claim to the carriage they intended to jump on. How is 2nd week of March weatherwise in Mauritania? Check out one of the largest trains in the world, whether you watch it pass by or take a ride, its a 2.3km long train that primarily carries iron ore and has a couple of passenger carriages in the back.