Atar

Atar is a town of 25,000 people (2013) in Saharan Mauritania. It is a great base for exploring the Adrar region, and tends to be slightly cheaper overall than Chinguetti. The Atar Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in the country, dates from 1674.

Understand
Atar is growing in importance due to its proximity to an airport and a regional hospital.

Climate
Atar has a hot desert climate typical of the Sahara Desert, south of the tropic of Cancer. The weather is usually very hot, very sunny and very dry but it can be overcast sometimes. The annual average temperature is close to 30 °C (86 °F), meaning that excessive heat persists year-round. The annual mean rainfall amount is very low, averaging no more than 35 mm and it mainly falls in August and in September while the sunshine duration is high, at over 3,540 hr of bright sunshine yearly.

By train
The Iron Ore Train typically departs from Nouadhibou sometime between 14:30 and 22:00, depending when the cargo is finished loading. There is only one train a day with passenger cars and tickets can be arranged in advance or bought at the Nouadhibou train station (Gare Voyageurs) for around 1,500 ouguiyas. Travel in the bucket wagons is free, just climb aboard, but it will be cold and dusty. The train stops at Choum where you can easily grab a ride to Atar in one of the many bush taxis or pickups which will meet the train for around 1,500-2,000 ouguiyas.

By road
There is a paved and fast road which runs from Nouakchott to Atar served by a variety of minibuses (including one run by a kindly French ex-pat) and bush taxis. All of the rides going to Atar tend to leave Nouakchott from the Garage Atar at the end of town. Typical fare is around 4000 ouguiyas.

Get around
Atar is quite small and can easily be walked, although some auberges and resorts lie quite far out of town. Taxis are available and can usually be caught around the traffic circle in the centre of town, fares are around 100-300 ouguiyas depending on distance.

See
Atar has a few markets which may be of interest to the souvenir hunter and prices tend to be lower than Chinguetti, and bargaining is expected.

Drink
The occasional beer can be found at Auberge Bab Sahara.

Sleep
For its size, Atar contains a good number of auberges, hotels and resorts.



Go next
Bush taxis (taxis brousses) or 4x4s to Choum, Chinguetti, or Nouakchott can be arranged in the Garage, the market or at most hotels.

Many of the oases and other natural sites in the region can be seen in day trips leaving from Atar. Ask around at your hotel/auberge to arrange bush taxis, 4x4s, or rent bikes. If your feeling adventurous wander into the market and you will doubtless get offers of obliging drivers ready to show you what they consider to be the most interesting sites.

Some of the notable sites in the region include oases (Terjit, Mhaireth), dunes (Valle Blanche, Amatlich), and old towns (Azougi, Chinguetti).