The Adrar region is the heart of Mauritanian tourism. The towns of Chinguetti and Ouadane are UNESCO World Heritage sites — ancient caravan cities with mud-brick mosques and private libraries holding thousands of Islamic manuscripts. Atar is the regional hub; from there you can reach both towns in a day. The Amojjar Pass between Atar and Chinguetti has prehistoric rock art and genuinely dramatic scenery.
The Banc d'Arguin National Park on the Atlantic coast is one of Africa's most important bird sanctuaries, a stopping point for millions of migratory birds on the East Atlantic flyway. Dolphins, flamingos, and manatees are all present. The Imragen fishing villages — where local fishermen use wooden sticks to summon dolphins, which then drive fish toward the shore — are unlike anything else in the region.
The Richat Structure, known as the Eye of the Sahara, is a 50-kilometre-wide circular geological formation visible from space, located near Ouadane. You need a guide and a 4WD to get close to it, and it is more striking from the air than from the ground — but it is still a remarkable place to stand.
The iron ore train from Zouerate to Nouadhibou is one of the world's great rail journeys: up to 3 kilometres long, running 700 kilometres through the Sahara, with a passenger car or (more memorably) a free ride in an open ore wagon. The journey takes 12 to 20 hours depending on conditions and is best done in cooler months.
Terjit oasis, a narrow canyon of palms and freshwater pools cut into the desert plateau south of Atar, is one of the most pleasant places in the country to slow down for a day.
Oualata, in the far southeast near the Mali border, is the most remote of the old caravan towns and arguably the most beautiful — its houses decorated with distinctive geometric patterns painted by the women of the community. Getting there from Nema takes several hours by 4WD across open desert.