The Adrar is a region made up of a plain at the foot of cliffs that border high plateaus. The plateaus are cut by valleys which sometimes form true gorges, at the bottom of which oases nestle. The region is essentially desert, apart from the oases, and the temperatures — very high by day — can turn very cool at night.
It is also the most visited region of Mauritania. Its appeal lies in the diversity of its desert landscapes, its oases — havens of serenity — and its ancient cities, once staging posts for the caravans of the trans-Saharan trade that has now almost disappeared.
Ancient cities: Chinguetti, Ouadane... names that evoke a past of both commercial and intellectual wealth. The trans-Saharan trade left many traces in this region. These cities were also great cultural and spiritual centres and served as bases for the spread of Islam throughout West Africa. Staging posts on the road to Mecca, they were home to many scholars, of whom rich libraries of Arabic manuscripts remain to this day.
The oases: islands of greenery and coolness in this ocean of stone and sand, the oases of the Adrar, with the date palm as their emblem, remain the jewels of this region.