Hi everyone.

I found this site very useful when doing research for traveling to Mauritania and getting the visa there. I want to contribute my own experience.

I'm a travel photographer and I am traveling with my wife. After having been in Morocco for 3 months I was a little paranoid to cross into this country which by comparison seemed so dangerous and full of kidnappers and terrorists, in accordance to foreign advisories, at least.

I have a blog post with a relatively detailed account of the trip and images, you can check it out below:

Mauritania, the Most Amazing Place You’ll Probably Never Visit | Mitchell Kanashkevich Travel and Photography Blog

Otherwise, the short story is this. Yes, there is potential threat, but, there is also potential threat in leaving our home - getting hit by a car, getting robbed, raped etc in some of the most "civilized" countries in the world. Every day we live we get closer to dying.

The question is - how big is the risk of something happening in Mauritania? It partly depends on where you go. I went inside, into Adrar, past Chinguetti, as far as Ouadane. It was getting unbearably hot, so, we finally turned back, though, I would have loved to have stayed.

The "bad guys" are supposedly around the borders with Mali and that's pretty far. Depending on what road you take and on your transport, it could be a veeery long time before they can get to you. In theory word does spread quickly, so, staying in one place for a while can present a dangerous situation. You're basically giving those people with bad intentions enough time to get to you. In reality, it's a vast country. The extremists are few and likely far between and unless you have super bad luck, it's unlikely that you'll meet them.

Mauritanians themselves, in general are very far from extremists. They're quite lovely people, the further out you go from (former) tourist attractions, the nicer they get.

So, to put things in perspective - yes, there is a risk, but, it might be as much of a risk as one having a deadly car accident. It's there, but, you don't stop driving because of it.

If you love the desert and have interest in amazing traditions and culture, Mauritania is definitely worth a visit.