|
|
Africa by Bike Home
|
|
The Atlantic Route The Atlantic Route is the most popular trans-Saharan route, and is likely to become even busier as the tarmac nears completion. As the work progresses, things are likely to change - which they do regularly in this part of the world anyway! This information is correct at the time we passed this way in December 2004 - any subsequent updates will be reflected in the date at the bottom of the page. Please bear in mind that we may not have remembered/written things down correctly, and that we are cyclists so any comments made regarding cars or 4WDs are educated guesses at best! Above all, it's best to get information from as many sources as possible - Sahara Overland is a great source of information. We've split the information here into three sections - the road from Laayoune south to the border between Western Sahara and Mauritania (mainly concerned with locations of food, fuel and water); the border crossing and road to Nouadhibou; and the new road from Nouadhibou to Nouakchott. Information especially useful to cyclists is highlighted in red. South from Laayoune to the border.
The road is good tarmac all the way, distances on the Michelin map are reasonably accurate but sometimes out by 20-25km or so. Here we list what we found
Lemsid/Lemseyed/Lamhsid - 110km from Laayoune - good café/restaurant, shop, boulangerie, fuel and water. The Border Crossing. Formalities for cyclists at the border are very quick and easy on both sides. There were no suggestions of bribes and no hassle at all - everyone was very friendly. It seemed to take longer for cars and motorbikes but no-one appeared to have any real problems. We did have to fill in currency declaration forms, but no-one seemed to be interested in what we put on there. Here is the process in detail: Moroccan formalities take place at Fort Guerguerat, 90km south of Barbas and about 250km south of the Dakhla turning. The buildings you need are on the left of the road as you approach, and the first one is customs - cyclists don't need to call here. Passport control is a small fenced hut a little further along, where you need an exit stamp. Then there is 7km of tarmac before the first Mauritanian checkpoint - just police taking your passport details, no stamps. After that comes the piste - 4km of sandy braided tracks. Apparently all the mines are now cleared, and we crossed from one track to another to find an easier route, although following closely in a local's footsteps. It may be worth taking the left fork when the road splits into three around the halfway point but we saw 2WDs coming through both ways - if you're cycling, you'll be pushing a lot either way as the sand is too deep to ride. Head for the two huts on the skyline, the first is a police checkpoint, then immigration who will check your visa and documents and finally customs, where everyone has to stop in order to do currency declaration. Definitely worth keeping some Euros or Dollars to one side as black market rates in Nouakchott are at least 10% above official rates if you bargain (officially 345UM to the Euro at the moment, can get 390UM easily). From here, it's tarmac all the way to Nouadhibou, except a 5km diversion just before you enter the town - this may well be finished by now but if not it's good piste. About 10km from the Mauritanian border post you cross the railway and come to a junction, left to Nouakchott (430km, see below), right to Nouadhibou (45km). Nouadhibou to Nouakchott - the "New Road".
Apparently there's another five or six months work to go on this road, but locals seem pessimistic that it'll be finished by then. There certainly doesn't seem to have been much progress since November on the middle sections. Plenty of locals do the trip in 2WDs, but we only saw tourists
0km - junction - N21°17.14' W016°53.50' - tarmac from here. On the whole, the second half of the piste is easier than the first. We took five days to cycle this from Nouadhibou - if you are fit, lightly laden and really went for it four days might be possible.
Where next? |
