Kiffa is the most important city in the central south and also the capital of the Assaba region. The city of 60,000 inhabitants is located on the western edge of the Aoukar Depression. For decades, Kiffa was a stopover for the original Dakar Rally. The town is appreciated above all for its handicrafts, especially in the field of glass art. The worldwide unique way of glass production for the region is already documented for the 9th century. Especially the multicolored and richly decorated glass beads, also known as Kiffa beads, are internationally praised and still produced by individual artists. The local mosque is also worth seeing. In the immediate vicinity of Kiffa we find the Affollé Mountains, in the proximity of which the West African crocodile was rediscovered in the 1990s. Previously, it had been considered extinct for decades. A small population of elephants managed to survive there until the 1980s. Kiffa is an important spot on our southern tours through Mauritania. Coming from Ayoun el Atrous we stop on the way in Foum el Cherat, 70 km east of Kiffa. There we can visit the Tamourt Bougari and if you like also the Guelta Metraucha. You decide whether we finally spend the night in an Auberge inside Kiffa, or set up our night camp in a beautiful location outside. And by the way: Did you know that Abderrahmane Sissako, the most famous and multiple award-winning Mauritanian director, was also born here?
