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Assaba sits in south-central Mauritania, a transitional region where the Sahara softens into Sahelian scrub and seasonal watercourses. Its landscape of low sandstone plateaus, scattered acacia and rain-fed valleys supports more agriculture and livestock herding than the regions further north, and the population is a mix of Moor and Haalpulaar communities. The regional capital, Kiffa, is a busy market town known historically for the colourful glass beads that bear its name. Few foreign travellers pass through Assaba, which keeps it a working rather than touristic landscape: market days, herding routes and small farming villages rather than curated sites. Those who do come find a useful window onto rural Mauritanian life away from the desert-tourism circuit, along with cooler, greener scenery during and after the rainy season than the country's northern regions.
- Kiffa market town, famed for traditional glass beads
- Rural Moor and Haalpulaar villages
- Seasonal valleys and Sahelian scrubland
- Off-the-beaten-path rural travel