The iron ore train between Zouerate and Nouadhibou is one of the great eccentric rail journeys on earth. Once a day, the train assembles in Zouerate — sometimes two to three kilometres of ore wagons — and heads west across 700 km of open Sahara. Passenger wagons are attached to the rear, or you can ride for free in the open ore wagons. The ore wagon option is cold at night, covered in iron dust by morning, and completely memorable.
The journey takes anywhere from 12 to 20 hours depending on breakdowns and delays. The landscape is pure Sahara: sand, rock, the occasional dry wadi, the odd camel. At night, the absence of any light source makes the stars extraordinary. At Choum, about 460 km from Zouerate, the train pauses and passengers can disembark for the road connection south toward Atar and the Adrar region. The train departs Zouerate in the afternoon and reaches Nouadhibou in the morning.