Lac d'Aleg

Lac d'Aleg is a shallow depression in southern Mauritania that fills when the summer rains come and shrinks through the dry season, sometimes to nothing, and while there is water in it the lake draws pelicans, herons, storks and ducks in numbers. Cattle and sheep are watered along its edges. It sits beside the Route de l'Espoir, which makes it one of the few wetlands in the country easy to reach.

What you actually see

• The seasonal water - a lake that fills after the rains and can dry entirely.
• The waterbirds - pelicans, herons, storks and ducks while the water lasts.
• The herding - cattle and sheep watered around the edges.
• The roadside access - a wetland directly on the main east-west road.

When to go

November to February is when water remains after the rains and the weather is cool. By late spring the lake may be dry. The rains fall around July to September.

Honest expectations

The lake can be completely dry depending on the year and the season. There are no facilities or hides of any kind. Access to the shore crosses grazing land.

Nearby

Aleg is beside it, and Nouakchott is west.