Mauritania: A rare glimpse at one of the world's least-visited nations

Mauritania offers an unusual travel perspective as one of the world’s least-visited countries, with roughly 90% of its land inside the Sahara Desert. Despite rising global access to remote destinations, fewer than 10,000 international travelers arrive each year, largely attributed to limited tourism infrastructure and security concerns. The country has not suffered a terrorist attack since 2011, and the Global Terrorism Index ranks it as less affected by terrorism than most European nations. A three-week solo journey using public transport and hired 4x4 pickups took the writer through desert oases, trans-Saharan trade-route cities once sustained by camel caravans, and a rich Atlantic fishing culture. In Nouadhibou, the Canary Current supports large catches—sardinella, mackerel, sabres and octopus—so many fishing pirogues dock that the concentration is visible from space. The coastal capital Nouakchott, home to about one-third of its roughly five million people, retains a village-like feel outside the modern core.