We meet at the international airport of Mauritania’s capital, Nouakchott, and take a group transfer to the hotel (those arriving on non-recommended flights at different times can reach the hotel by taxi or pre-book a private transfer).

After a short rest and meeting the group, we’ll walk around the capital and local markets to prepare equipment for our expedition.

After an early breakfast, we’ll check out from the hotel, load into expedition vehicles, and head deep into the country for adventure!

Our journey to the Eye of the Sahara will span several days but will be very educational and interesting. We’ll become some of the world’s first explorers of a mysterious object – a channel very similar to the one described by ancient Greek philosopher Plato in his works Timaeus and Critias, telling the legend of Atlantis.

We’ll see majestic dunes, endless rocky desert expanses, and rare huts amid the sands. We’ll encounter only one city en route where we’ll stop for refueling.

By sunset, we’ll arrive at Plato’s Channel and choose a convenient spot to set up our tent camp.

We’ll dedicate this day to exploring the channel. After determining the starting and ending points of our hiking route, we’ll begin our trek. The main goal is searching for technological traces and artifacts, collecting interesting samples, and gathering impressive photos and videos.

In the evening, we’ll return to our tent camp, have dinner, and before sleep, admire the fantastic starry sky (if lucky, we might see meteors, and perhaps even UFOs..)

After breakfast, we’ll continue investigating the most interesting areas of the channel.

Around noon, we’ll pack up our tents and head toward the Eye of the Sahara. En route, we’ll visit the picturesque Terjit oasis, where a delicious traditional local cuisine lunch awaits us. Here you can purchase local souvenirs collected by vendors from the surrounding area. Beyond this point, the paved highway ends, and the remaining journey will be on dirt roads with beautiful views of mountain cliffs and scenic valleys.

By evening, we’ll arrive in Ouadane, the city nearest to the Richat Structure, and check into a colorful local hotel.

Today we’ll finally meet the Richat Structure, the famous Eye of the Sahara, starting with its “pupil.” The road from Ouadane runs along an ancient riverbed of what was once a full-flowing river, whose banks gradually widen and virtually disappear beyond the horizon. Mentally removing the sand, you’ll see that this was once a delta that local tribes surely called a sea.

At some point, the sands suddenly end… this is the outer ring wall of the Richat Structure. Crossing over it, we enter the second depression and then, after overcoming the second ring, we get a view of the very center of the Eye of the Sahara.

Setting up our expedition camp, where we’ll have lunch and rest during the hottest hours in the shade of fairly large trees for the next few days, we’ll begin exploring the amazing geological features of the structure. We’ll see diverse rocky slopes and numerous dried mountain streams that once flowed here.

We’ll return to Ouadane for dinner. We’ll share impressions from our acquaintance with the Eye of the Sahara and watch “White Sun of the Desert.” Here, this excellent film takes on special meaning…

After breakfast, we’ll head back to the expedition camp. This time our goal is the huge dried lake located between the “pupil” and the middle ring wall. Here, the lake bottom is covered with a thick layer of dried silt. Typically, at the sight of such a landscape and with a shovel at hand, true archaeologists inevitably start digging, hoping to find artifacts…

After lunch and a short but well-deserved rest, we’ll conduct radiometric surveys of the area, searching for zones with relatively elevated radiation levels and continue mapping these zones.

We’ll have dinner as usual at the hotel in Ouadane. We’ll attend a lecture and share impressions from today’s experiences.

After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll drive to the foothills of the Adrar Plateau, located north of the Richat Structure. Dismounting, we’ll make a quick march directly to the mountain slopes. Those willing and physically fit enough will have the opportunity to climb to the summit, which offers grand panoramas of the Eye of the Sahara. Those who tire or prefer not to climb will remain at the base in a mobile camp in the shade of trees.

After descending, we’ll return to the expedition camp where, after resting and refreshing ourselves, we’ll determine the most rational directions for continuing our research.

In the evening, dinner at the hotel and friendly gatherings await us. We’ll prepare to bid farewell to the amazing Eye of the Sahara, hoping to return here again.

Today we face a long journey to the Atlantic Ocean. Departing from the Richat Structure, we’ll admire magnificent views of the Adrar Plateau mountain gorges, cut through sedimentary layers by former rivers. Along the way, we’ll make spontaneous stops to search for interesting objects and artifacts. We’ll visit Fort Saganne, built for filming the eponymous movie starring young Gérard Depardieu.

We’ll have lunch at a colorful restaurant in Atar city, refuel, and continue onwards. By evening, we’ll check into a hotel on the ocean shore, enjoy a delicious dinner, and begin to enjoy well-deserved rest. Those interested can watch “Fort Saganne” =)

In the evening, we’ll organize a farewell dinner at a colorful local restaurant, where those who wish can order hookah and relax on comfortable sofas.

After breakfast, we bid farewell to Mauritania and head to the airport. Our transfer will be scheduled for the majority of expedition participants’ departure times, but if you’re flying home on a late flight or the next day, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy additional beach time or visit interesting places in Nouakchott.