Mauritania

	Flight ALC via Morocco
Day 1	Arrival in Nouakchott	Arrive Nouakchott Arrive in Mauritania and transfer to your hotel. Depending on your arrival time, we could include some initial sightseeing in Nouakchott rather than devoting a complete day to the capital.	Best Centric Hotel
Day 2	Desert Dunes of Azoueiga	Nouakchott to Azoueiga Leave Nouakchott and travel by 4x4 into the Adrar region After breakfast, begin the journey into the desert, driving towards the magnificent dunes of Azoueiga. Along the way, enjoy several scenic stops and a picnic lunch near the caves of Agjout. Arrive at Azoueiga in the late afternoon and climb the dunes to watch the sunset over the vast Saharan landscape. Your crew will have prepared a comfortable desert camp where dinner is served beneath the stars.	Desert Camp, Azoueiga Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 3	White Valley, Mherith Oasis and Chinguetti	Travel through the spectacular White Valley, a region known for its pale sands, striking rock formations and isolated nomadic settlements. Along the way there will be opportunities to meet local nomadic families and learn about life in the Sahara. Continue to the Mherith Oasis for lunch and enjoy a refreshing swim in its natural pools surrounded by palm trees and dramatic desert scenery. Later, continue to Chinguetti, one of Mauritania's most important historic settlements and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, arriving in time for sunset over the dunes.	Eden Guesthouse Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Day 4	Chinguetti, Tanouchert and Ouadane	Explore Chinguetti's old quarter and one of its historic manuscript libraries before continuing deeper into the desert. Travel via the Tanouchert area towards Ouadane, with opportunities to experience the landscapes and traditional nomadic culture of the Adrar.
Day 5	Tanouchert, Ouadane and the Richat Structure (Eye of Africa) - Atar	Explore the ruins of ancient Ouadane before travelling towards the extraordinary Richat Structure, the geological formation known as the Eye of Africa. Continue towards Atar for the night. After breakfast, travel along part of the ancient trans Saharan trade route towards Ouadane, one of Mauritania's most important medieval caravan cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Explore the atmospheric ruins of the old town, including the famous Street of Forty Scholars. Continue to the remarkable Richat Structure, better known as the Eye of Africa. Visible from space and measuring approximately 40 kilometres across, this extraordinary geological formation remains one of the Sahara's greatest mysteries. Enjoy time to explore and photograph the site before returning to Ouadane for the evening.
Day 6	Atar, Terjit Oasis and Nouakchott	Visit the beautiful Terjit Oasis before making the journey back to Nouakchott.
Day 7	Nouakchott to Saint Louis, Senegal	Travel south and cross the border overland into Senegal, continuing to Saint Louis. This makes the journey between the two countries part of the overall experience rather than returning to the airport to fly.
Day 8	Saint Louis to Dakar	Spend the morning exploring Saint Louis before continuing south to Dakar. As you have visited Senegal previously, we can look at what you have already seen and adapt this day accordingly rather than unnecessarily repeating places.
Day 9	Dakar to Bissau	Transfer to the airport and fly from Dakar to Bissau. On arrival, transfer to your hotel and begin the Guinea Bissau section of the journey.
Day 10	Bissau to the Bijagós Islands	Travel by boat into the Bijagós Archipelago and continue to Orango National Park. In the afternoon, visit one of the local communities and begin exploring the traditional culture of the islands.
Day 11	Orango and Anor Lake	Spend a full day exploring Orango, travelling by boat and on foot through the mangroves and savannah towards Anor Lake. This is also one of the areas associated with the archipelago's rare saltwater hippos, although of course wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed.
Day 12	Bijagós cultural exploration	Another full day in the islands, concentrating on some of the traditional communities and cultural experiences that make the Bijagós such an unusual part of West Africa.
Day 13	Bijagós Islands to Bissau	Return by boat to Bissau. Depending on timings, include some exploration of the capital before your final night.
Day 14	Depart Bissau	Transfer to the airport for your onward flight.