Riding the longest train in the world through the Sahara

Today, we’ll take you along on Mauritania’s Iron Ore Train, the most singular rail journey on Earth. I know you’ve been waiting for this, dear readers.

The train starts its voyage in Zouérat, a remote mining town in the middle of the Sahara, where up to 84 tonnes of iron ore are loaded on each of about 200 cars. The ore is then transported 700 km to the Port of Nouadhibou on the Atlantic coast, where ships are waiting to carry it out into the world, particularly to China, Australia, Italy and Japan, as well as to neighbour Algeria. Iron ore is a crucial export for Mauritania. It contributes significantly to the country’s GDP, and provides employment for many. Not surprisingly, the Iron Ore Train is operated by the country’s National Mining and Industrial Company – Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière – and is a lifeline for Mauritania’s economy.

On the way from Zouérat to the coast, the train stops in Choum. Well, most of the time, anyway. As with most things about this train, you never really know, well… anything.

In the last episode, we learn the train is delayed, leaving at 4am rather than 4pm. And so we leave our cosy lodgings in Atar around midnight, setting off for Choum, hoping this train will actually stop there – and not be delayed any further. Fingers crossed, we’ll soon be sitting atop 80 tonnes of iron ore en route to Nouadhibou.

Choum

About a 1.5 hour-drive from Atar, Choum is more a train stop than a train station. Tracks, basically. That’s it. At least that’s how it looks when we arrive in the dark of night. It’s as pitch-black as only the desert gets. Minimal light pollution.

Said, our driver, will be taking our bags along to Nouadhibou, and has a long drive ahead of him. Sensibly, he has brought a friend along. They pull out a blanket – and soon sleep like babies. After a while they wake up and make some tea. Then back to sleep.

We’re a bit on edge (or at least I am) and don’t even try to nap. I wander restlessly around in the dark – actively pushing aside thoughts of things that could go wrong. Now that we will be travelling during the day instead of the night, my main concern is what might happen if the train malfunctions and gets a lengthy stop in the heat of day. And what if the train staff sees us? Will they throw us off the train? We’ll be sneaking onboard, after all. Will they make us climb down and sit in the passenger car? Pay a fine? I even envisage a stint in a Mauritanian prison, and frankly, that would be preferable to being left in the soaring heat of the Sahara. Imagination is running wild! Enough, Sophie!

Another delay

4am comes – and goes. So does 5. And 6. And 7.

Finally, a train thunders past. This is the empty train from Nouadhibou on its way to Zouérat. I film a video as it moves past, but give up after 3 minutes, when only half the train has passed by. A Maglev it is not; it moves fairly slowly, this train. The main reason, though, is its length. This is the longest train in the world. 3 km long!

As daylight arrives, we get a clearer impression of Choum. The town is behind us, with one building in particular looking quite official. A man in uniform comes out of it and approaches us. He starts talking to Said, then looks at us. He sounds agitated. We’re a bit concerned. Is this about us not being allowed on the train? Rumours have been circulating lately, about Mauritania putting a stop to foreigners surfing on the iron ore. We have been talking about taking this train for a while, and these rumours rushed it to the top of our (ever more extensive) list of places to see, adventures to experience.

And it makes sense, in a way. After all, no country wants to be known primarily as that place where some random tourist fell off the train in the middle of the Sahara and died of exposure – a very real danger. On the other hand, the Iron Ore Train is the main draw for travellers in this country. Mauritania isn’t exactly a hub of tourist activity, and money is desperately needed.

We ask Said what the uniform said. He is quite calm about it. Says it’s nothing. And we really have no choice but to take his word for it.

Meanwhile, as the sun rises on the horizon, we wait. And wait.

Finally!

At 8am, a fully loaded train arrives from Zouérat. Thankfully, it stops here in Choum.

Said bringing us hot bread, fresh from the oven

Said speeds towards the front of the train. This is best, as there will be less iron ore blowing in our faces. But we are still a good bit away from the locomotive, so we won’t be spotted.

We’re only taking necessities along, i.e. mostly food and drink. Said will be driving to Nouadhibou with the rest of our bags and gear, and meet us there.

We quickly throw our things onboard, then climb onto the high heap. Since we’re getting on in Choum, we’ll only be on the train for 460km. Still, that’s at least 12 hours, so better make it as comfortable as possible. First up, is digging out a space for sitting; the little shovel we bought in Atar comes in handy.

Comfortable is perhaps a stretch …but it could be worse.

For travellers, this is a unique journey. It is also a rough journey. There is a passenger car, but as you will have surmised, there’s no luxury option, (not even an economy option), no dining car, no toilets, no nothing. Should we be refused riding on top of the heap, Plan B is to settle for the passenger car. But we’re very much hoping Plan A will work: braving the elements and witness the raw beauty of the Sahara from the great outdoors, on top of 80 tonnes of iron ore.

Long train runnin’

Fully loaded, the train moves at ca 60 km/hour. The next 13 hours, in the scorching sun, with not so much as a square inch of shade, well, I won’t say the hours fly by. But the motion of the train and the mesmerising landscape is oddly hypnotic.

This is not merely a train ride; it is a passage through time, across one of the most inhospitable terrains on Earth. Watching life in the Sahara pass by, from top of a heap of iron ore, is an experience like no other. As the train snakes its way through the desert, we pass herds of camels…

… and small communities.

Tiny villages – sometimes not much more than shelters

We drive past towering rocky outcrops and bits of vegetation moving with the wind…

But mostly, it’s miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles, as they say down in Oklahoma. A vast empty space that seems to stretch into infinity.

Why ride the Iron Ore Train?

13 hours is plenty of time to reflect. Why am I doing this? Why hitch a ride on a slow train through the desert in the searing heat?

Adventure? Thrill? Getting out of that comfort zone? Doing something extraordinary? The unparalleled views of the Sahara? Camaraderie with friends? I decide it is all of that. And a sense of accomplishment, as well.

I did it!

Also, curiously, I’m reminded of home. It’s something about the brutal beauty of the landscape. The scorching heat of the desert and the unrelenting cold of a Nordic winter: the opposite – and the same. Both rugged and extreme, both captivating and dangerous.

13 hours is also plenty of time for other weird stuff.

Am I a man? A woman? Does it even matter?

Arriving in Nouadhibou

Around 9pm, 13 hours after leaving Choum, the train rumbles in to the Port of Nouadhibou.

A few taxis follow the train for the last few kilometres, ready for train surfers. Unfortunately for them, we are the only ones. The only foreigners, at least. There is one other, a lone local we have spotted from time to time, a few cars behind us.

Said picks us up in the darkness, and takes us to our lodgings. And boy, do we appreciate that!

Just arrived at Hotel Delphin in Nouadhibou. It’s a wonder they let us in the door.

Iron Ore Train practicals

So – you wanna go? If so…

PREPARATION IS KEY

Embarking on this crazy journey requires careful planning. You need clothes and gear to protect you from the fine iron dust, the fierce desert winds, the sand storms and most of all, the scorching sun.

Iron Ore Train travel tips

1. Remember: there are no facilities on the train. None at all. Nada.

There are no toilets and nowhere to wash your hands. Furthermore, whilst the train makes a few stops (unscheduled), DO NOT get off! Keeping that in mind, it’s a good idea to be careful what you eat in the days prior. Diarrhoea is unpleasant at the best of times and places, and would surely be 10 times worse here. Also, rinsing iron dust from your ears is challenging enough; I can only imagine from other body parts.

2. Travel light

Take only what you will need on the train. Space is limited, and it’s tricky to manage luggage out in the open. Also, everything will get covered in iron ore dust, which is very hard to get out.

3. Find a safe spot

Find a stable spot on the train for yourself and secure your belongings to prevent them from blowing away. Also, moving around in the iron ore can be challenging. Go low when you are near the wall. If you fall off, the train won’t stop (after all, the staff don’t know you are here), and you don’t want to be stuck in the Sahara without supplies. Worst case, the elements will be the end of your tour here on Earth. Also, be careful when climbing onboard. No fun to ride with a twisted or broken ankle or arm, or a raging headache from tumbling off.

4. Protect yourself

The iron ore dust is pervasive. Wear protective clothing and cover your face to avoid inhaling the dust.

I tend to have rather sensitive eyes, so I wore ski goggles for almost the whole journey. They worked well as sunglasses, and were comfortable enough. I also wanted to breathe as little iron ore as possible into my lungs, so I covered my nose and mouth with the haouli most of the time. As a bonus, I didn’t get quite as dirty. (If I had been equally careful to cover my hair, it wouldn’t have taken half an hour and half a bottle of shampoo to get the iron ore out.)

Chimney chic mirror selfie

5. Stay hydrated

The desert heat is extreme. Bring lots of water and keep drinking it.

6. Don’t go it alone

I’m the first to advocate travelling solo. A good chunk of my travels, I have enjoyed on my own. The sense of freedom is incomparable. But whilst it is possible to ride the Iron Ore Train on your own, I wouldn’t recommend it. One reason is safety: there is a real risk of something going wrong: injury, illness, sunstroke…

But even more importantly (in my opinion), this is such a unique experience, it is best shared – both onboard and afterwards, probably for the rest of your life.

Iron Ore Train packing list

This is what we brought along:

From home:

Sleeping bags: nights in the desert can be very cold, even in the middle of summer. (We ended up not needing them, as we only travelled during the day.)
Sweater or light-weight jacket: also for night-time
Ski goggles: to protect your eyes
Sun cream!!
Basic first aid kit
Baby wipes
Comfortable clothes, preferably long sleeves and trousers (not shorts): to protect against the harsh sun
Shoes that can withstand rough treatment (no flip-flops): you will have to climb aboard the cargo car and move around in iron ore.
Head lamps: for night-time travel. (Again, we didn’t need ours during daylight, but they were useful during the dark night in Choum)
Protective bag/cover: for your phone and/or camera. (We had plastic diving covers, which worked well for protecting the gear, but they quickly got smudgy. That, together with the fierce sun, made it difficult to see. Snapping photos was mostly hit and miss.)
Large closeable plastic bags for our daypacks: to keep them from getting covered in iron ore.
Thick face mask. (I didn’t use mine; I was quickly reminded I find it hard to breathe, however well-ventilated they are.)

The black dust will permeate everything. There’s nothing you can do to avoid that. Iron ore is a pain to get out of clothes, and it could potentially ruin your washing machine. I ended up throwing away everything I wore, even underwear. The only exception was the blue haouli; I kept that as a souvenir. At home, I rinsed and squeezed it manually until the water turned from black to blue to clear; took about 15 minutes. Then, 3 rounds in the washing machine.

Baba, our inimitable fixer, provided:

A large straw mat
Fresh bread
Water (21 bottles, which was actually more than we needed) and a cooler bag which kept some of it cool-ish for about an hour

In Nouakchott and Atar, we bought:

Haoulies – local turbans to wrap around the head, to protect mouth and nose from inhaling too much iron ore dust
Food/snacks/fruit – things that are easy to open – and easy to eat
Drinks other than water
A small shovel

Iron Ore Train provisions

A few final words

Riding the Iron Ore Train is not for the faint-hearted. The journey is long and uncomfortable, and the desert climate is unforgiving. That said, this is an experience unlike any other. It’s an adventure that offers a unique glimpse into the heart of the Sahara – and the soul of Mauritania. If you’re willing to brave the elements, it will be a journey of a lifetime, filled with otherworldly scenery.

Trains passing in the Sahara Desert at high noon

Whether you’re an avid adventurer or merely a curious traveller, this epic train ride will no doubt leave you with a sense of achievement and stay with you forever. You did it!

Photos by Andrew Morland, Tom Brothwell and myself. 

 

Riding the longest train in the world through the Sahara is a post from Sophie’s World