Riding on top of an open-air freight car full of iron ore for nearly 20 hours through the Sahara Desert with no means of getting off must sound like a nightmare for most people, but for thrill-seekers and fans of the Dune franchise, it’s a unique experience worth getting arrested or even risking their lives for.
Since 1963, the Mauritania Railway has operated a number of freight trains to transport large quantities from the center of the West African country, through the Sahara Desert, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Known as Iron Ore Trains or Desert Express, these trains haul dozens of open-air cars full of iron ore for more than 700 kilometers (435 miles).
Like many other extreme experiences, riding on Mauritania’s Iron Ore Train was popularized by social media, after photos and videos posted by thrill-seekers went viral on platforms like Instagram and YouTube. With their faces covered and surrounded by desert and barren rocks, they looked like Fremen from Frank Herbert’s Dune.
As travelers started posting detailed vlogs and instructions on how to board the Desert Express, more and more people flocked to Mauritania for this unique experience. But this posed a problem to local authorities, because of the danger tourists were exposing themselves to. As exciting as photos and videos posted online may look, the fact is that riding an open-air train car full of soot through the desert comes with risks. If somebody falls, they are stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no food and no water. Plus, there is no way of safely getting off the train in case of an emergency.
In 2024, Mauritanian authorities decided to ban people from riding the Iron Ore Train, but that only made people covet the experience even more. Today, daredevils from all over the world travel to West Africa to illegally ride the train through the Sahara Desert for over 17 hours, just so they can post about it online.
Despite warnings of Mauritanian police and border security searching through travelers’ bags and even their phones for evidence of them riding the Iron Ore Express, and even pirates riding alongside the trains, jumping onto cars, and demanding up to 100 dollars per person, more people are riding the infamous desert train than ever before.
Riding on the Iron Ore Train is such a coveted experience that some tourists are willing to pay Mauritanian locals to smuggle them onto these trains.
