Travel Guide Erg Chech

Erg Chech ignores borders and stretches from Touat, in Algeria, to the eastern confines of the Ouadane moughataa, in Mauritania, passing through Mali. Unlike its eastern, Algerian fringe, the Mauritanian portion can only be reached at the price of a mad dash on the tracks leading to El Mreïti. This remote place, which commands the access to the erg, consists of a military garrison and a water point. It also conceals a remarkable ante-Islamic burial place topped by a tumulus and provided with a chapel. Currently, the area is forbidden to anyone who does not have the appropriate authorizations (see "Chegga").