Tagant "is a land of contrasts: Sahel and Sahara." It's a mountainous region situated in central Mauritanie, 400 km as the crow flies from the city of Nouakchott, which itself sits on the Atlantic coast. The true pronunciation, as spoken by locals, is in fact: Taganet.

"According to certain Moorish scholars, Tagant, usually translated as Small-Forest, is actually the Berber form of Ghana. Thus Tagant would be the last province still bearing the name of the ancient empire that Black Africans call Ganata and Arabs call Ghânat". Tagant. Odette de Puigaudeau. Editions Phébus, 1993.

The plateaus of Tagant, Adrâr and Assaba to the south, make up the Land of Stone, Trab El Hajra, in contrast to the sandy regions surrounding them. Less compact than Adrar, Tagant is formed by a series of sandstone plateaus ranging from 100 to 450 meters in altitude, higher in the southern part of the massif, and separated from one another by gorge-like valleys or wide-open ones, in which small oases with their palm groves are established.

Three major wadis and their tributaries drain the entire region. To the northwest, Wadi El Abiod. To the east, Wadi Tidjikja, which is called further downstream Wadi Rachid. In the center, running east to west, the Kra'a Naga, the Camel River, which also takes another name downstream and becomes Tamourt Naâj.

Several nomadic tribes share Tagant. The main ones are the Ida Ou Aïch, everywhere on the plateau and its slopes, the Kounta—from whom our guides and camel herders hail—the Ida Ou Ali, the Ahel Sidi Mahmoud, the Idei Bou Sat, and the Tadjakant.

The towns of any real size are few and far between.

Moudjéria, situated at the foot of the plateau's western edge, was founded in 1905 by administrator Coppolani. It commands the Acheft pass through which the main road to Tagant can reach the plateau.

N'Beika, 20 km from Moudjéria, sits on the right bank of the Tamourt valley and occupies a splendid site between dunes and rocks. It is at N'Beika that the paved road ends. From there you must continue toward Tidjikja via a difficult track, even for 4x4 vehicles.

Tidjikja is the capital of the region. It is believed to have been founded in the 17th century by the Ida-ou-Ali who came from Adrar. Like Chinguetti, it was a religious center, though of lesser importance.

Rachid was established in the early 18th century by the important Kounta tribe. The ancient city, destroyed several times over the centuries, now lies in ruins. Since 1968, a new village has been built on the other side of the wadi.

Ksar el Barka (1690) and Rachid (1723) are the ksour (fortified villages) founded in Tagant by the Kounta in connection with the Touat (Algeria). The Kounta form a tribe that claims both Arab and Sanhaja origins, guardians of Islamic orthodoxy and propagators of the Kadriyya Bekkaiyya path. Their haratine cultivate the palm groves while they themselves are active caravan merchants.