How to ride the famous iron ore train in Mauritania 🇲🇷
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- Опубліковано 6 лют 2025
- The finale of a magical week in Mauritania was about to come to a head, as we were about to board Mauritania’s famous iron ore train.
One of the world’s most famous and dangerous train journeys, the Mauritania iron ore train can be up to three kilometres long, with more than 200 carriages each carrying up to 84 tonnes of powdered iron (iron ore) from the mines in Choum to the coast in Nouadhibou where the metal is prepared for export.
We spent the afternoon at a compound in Choum, waiting for the train - which doesn’t run on a schedule - to arrive, and then climbed aboard it in the dark, having to wait several hours for the sunrise to start so we could see the desert around us.
If you fancy doing the same, then this video is for you. So sit back, relax and watch to find out how to ride the famous iron ore train in Mauritania.
Link to Lupine Travel’s Mauritania tour: lupinetravel.c...
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Hey Tom, 21 year old from Australia here. You’ve inspired me to travel more. Live more. My only issue is money right now. How do you fund your travels? ❤️ Love the content
Thank you! Great to hear - the best thing you can do is travel, and I hope you get to see a lot of our amazing planet. I have a full time job and I use my annual leave allowance to travel, although I would love to travel full time if I could!
@ mate that’s awesome. How can I find a job that allows me to travel as much as yours? What do you do?
Hi Tom, come on Uzbekistan! Its beautiful country
Bro this looks amazing! You always do cool stuff
Hahaha, only got one life, gotta make the most of it!
@@TravellingTomif you fell off the train out there would you die? There train goes by daily? But could you get back on, or would it not stop? Looks like nothing out there. No water even.
How fast does the train go?
@ No, you’d most likely fall on to sand, so you might take a bump but you should be okay. The train is like 2km long, so you’d be able to grab onto another carriage and climb on.
@@TravellingTom it goes that slow?
@ Goes about 40kmph, so if you ran alongside it, you’d probably be able to grab hold of one of the ladders and pull yourself up. You’d need some strength, but it’s definitely doable.
That looks class mate!
It really was!
Nice one Tom. I’m planning on cycling across the desert and getting on this back to Nouadhibou. How did you find getting on the train with your luggage? I’m wanting to sling my bike up there but not sure if there’s anyone to lend a hand or anything. Any tips or can you recommend a guide to give us a hand? Thanks!
I have no idea how you cycle across the desert, but if you can manage that, you’ll have no issue getting on the train.
You’ll probably have somewhere between 90 seconds and five minutes to climb up the ladder on the side of the carriage and get your stuff on top of the iron ore, then you’ll want to dig yourself a bit of space to sleep/sit in and secure your bike/belongings.
It was easy for me, I just had my backpack on my back and chucked the sleeping back up before climbing up the ladder.
The train comes to a complete stop, so you will have time, but you’ll need to act fast. I wouldn’t worry about it though, as long as you can lift your bike up with one arm, you’ll be sound.
Mauretania is on the list. Great vid.
Good to hear. Thanks for watching!
I am sad that your hardwork doesn't get good views 19k is less😢 but support from india
Appreciate it! Thanks for watching!
That. Is. Insane. 😃🔥🚂
Unreal experience, mate!
In which month did you make the trip? Do you have any numbers on the temperature while day and night?
So class!
It really is an incredible experience!
Hey guys, i’ve heard since December SNIM (the official company that operates this train) has prohibited to travel on top of the train…
Does anyone know, if it’s still possible? Or is it regularly and strictly controlled?
It is possible, i know guys that did it like 5 days ago
I was planning a trip to Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria but might as well change to Morocco and Mauritania.
Do it, bro!
Insane!
Unreal, mate!
I was hoping to see you actually getting on. Did it slow right down, or did you have to risk life and limb to run alongside and climb on?
@@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne It was in the dark unfortunately, so difficult to film. But it was the exact way we got off. It stopped for about five minutes, climbed up the ladder on the side and then had a mad scramble to dig a hole/trench in the iron ore so we had somewhere to sleep.
@@TravellingTom Many thanks for the reply. I have a friend who rode it and he said it was an insane experience...
@@BibTheBoulderTheOriginalOne Unreal. One of the best travel experiences you can have!
Damn that grinding would be annoying
Hello I m from Mauritania
Honestly, it’s pretty chilled. You’re overwhelmed by the visual to even notice
How did you all get on that moving train!?
Just climb on in the dark (the opposite of when we got off)
আসলে ইন্টারেস্টিং ভ্রমণ।
dude, you need more that a T-Shirt for that dust. It's full of Silica Dust!!
Nightmare! Oh well, I survived! 😅
Thomas! Where is your n95 triple mask?!
The amount of people rattled by a piece of cloth is class hahahaha
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