Tichitt

Tichitt sits below the Tagant escarpment in eastern Mauritania and is the least visited of the four ksour UNESCO inscribed in 1996, a town built entirely of flat stones laid without mortar in patterns of light and dark, with decorated doorways and triangular niches set into the walls. It was founded around the twelfth century on a caravan route and its population has fallen steadily for decades.

What you actually see

• The dry stone walls - flat stones laid without mortar in light and dark patterns.
• The decorated doorways - triangular niches and geometric work in the stonework.
• The escarpment - the Tagant cliff the town stands below.
• The 1996 inscription - one of four ksour listed together by UNESCO.

When to go

November to February is the cool season and the only sensible window. Summer heat in the Tagant is extreme. Sand can close the track at any time.

Honest expectations

Getting there means a long desert track with four wheel drive and a guide, and the trip should not be attempted independently. Much of the town is abandoned and collapsing. There are no facilities of any kind.

Nearby

Tidjikja is west, and Oualata is far southeast.