Riding on top of the world’s longest train for 12 hours through Mauritania

There is the supposed worlds longest train in Mauritania (a decent size country south of Morocco) at 2.5 kilometers long that runs from the iron ore mine inland to the coast. It makes a couple stops depending on which way you get on, when outbound it makes stops in Choum and Nouadhibou. The train is free to ride if you hop on top like in the picture and lasts around 12 hours departing around 7pm, give or take a couple of hours. Getting to Choum (and around Mauritania in general) is not the easiest thing to do in the world, but definitely an adventure of a lifetime! The easiest way is to get to Nouakchott then take a private minibus from Nouakchott to Choum, which is about a 8-10 hour drive. There is no accommodation or even restaurants in Choum really, so it’s important to bring a ton of food.