Banc d'Arguin National Park

Stretching along Mauritania's Atlantic shore, the Banc d'Arguin National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage site of extraordinary ecological importance. Where the Sahara's dunes meet the cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Atlantic, vast tidal flats, shallow bays, and sandbanks create one of the most significant wintering grounds for migratory shorebirds on Earth. Millions of birds, including flamingos, pelicans, spoonbills, terns, and waders, descend on these waters each year, having flown thousands of kilometers from northern Europe and Siberia. The park is also home to a rare human population, the Imraguen people, who still fish the waters using traditional methods and lateen-sailed boats, sometimes aided by wild dolphins that help herd the catch. Beneath the surface, the seagrass meadows shelter turtles, dolphins, and one of the last Saharan populations of monk seals. Exploring the park by boat at dawn, gliding past clouds of wheeling birds with the desert shimmering on the horizon, is a quietly spectacular experience. Remote and starkly beautiful, Banc d'Arguin is a meeting point of two worlds, sand and sea, found nowhere else.