Would You Survive on this Extreme African Train Ride?

Travel isn’t always glamorous or comfortable. In fact, a new trend in travel is seeking out extreme and uncomfortable experiences in order to get a more authentic taste of life in some of the world’s poorer countries.

One of these experiences that is a must for anyone looking to do extreme tourism is a ride on the Mauritania Railway, this North African country’s only rail line.

The ride on this 700-kilometer train is free, and you won’t have to pay anything to do this experience once you arrive in the northern port city of Nouadhibou. So, why is this?

This train line actually isn’t designed for passengers. It is actually meant to serve the huge loads of iron ore that are mined in the desert of the country so that it can be shipped to a port city and then exported throughout the world.

This means that the carriages that leave Nouadhibou are empty after having brought iron ore to the port. What do travelers do, then?

Well, they hop into the empty carriages, which offer no protection from the Saharan sun or the cold nights of the desert, and they head off for a ride which can last over 12 hours.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2emSVtnGoQ/

It might seem extreme, but this experience is completely unique and gives humans a free view of some of the most beautiful desert landscapes on the planet.

Would you be brave enough to ride on the Mauritanian Railway?