Information can change. Always confirm locally. Read our travel disclaimer.
Conditions, access and local arrangements change. Confirm current details before you travel.
Dakhlet Nouadhibou occupies Mauritania's northwestern coast, centred on the Cap Blanc peninsula that it shares with Western Sahara. This is the country's economic engine of fishing and iron-ore export, and its capital, Nouadhibou, is Mauritania's second city, with a working port, an infamous ship graveyard of rusting wrecks, and the freight trains that run to and from the Zouerate mines. Just south lies the Banc d'Arguin National Park's northern reaches, though the park's main access is usually from the Nouakchott side. For travellers, the region is best known for one of the world's last colonies of endangered Mediterranean monk seals near Cap Blanc, rich Atlantic fishing grounds, and as the terminus of the iron-ore train from Zouerate. It's a working port city rather than a resort, with a stark, salt-air atmosphere.
- Nouadhibou's ship graveyard and working port
- Cap Blanc monk seal colony
- Iron-ore train from Zouerate
- Northern edge of Banc d'Arguin National Park