Road conditions in Mauritania are generally poor, particularly in the interior. Overland travel is difficult and roadside assistance is almost nonexistent. The country’s size and harsh climate make road maintenance and repair especially problematic. Mauritania has only about 2,070 km (1,286 miles) of surfaced roads, 710 km (441 miles) of unsurfaced roads, and 5,140 km (3,194 miles) of unimproved tracks.

Three main national roads:
N1/ Nouakchott - Atar - Zoueratte - Algeria border
N2/ Nouadhibou - Nouakchott - Rosso - Senegal border
N3/ Nouakchott - Kiffa - Nema - Mali border

Paved roads (rose colour)
http://i49.tinypic.com/307p3zq.jpg

All images are taken from flickr and panoramio

N2/Nouakchott - Nouadhibou
http://i47.tinypic.com/33uzafm.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/3026vc9.jpg

http://i50.tinypic.com/5x3maf.jpg

http://i45.tinypic.com/175vgh.jpg

N3/Nouakchott - Kiffa
http://i49.tinypic.com/kafnuh.jpg

http://i46.tinypic.com/2md56ht.jpg

N4/Nouakchott - Rosso (close to Senegal border)
http://i47.tinypic.com/2qdvspy.jpg

Atar - Chinguetti
http://i48.tinypic.com/2zirimu.jpg

Nouakchott street
http://i47.tinypic.com/2j5l6ie.jpg

Nouakchott northern bypass
http://i49.tinypic.com/jjty81.jpg

rare road sign
http://i48.tinypic.com/15qrsps.jpg

I went to Mauritania a few years ago. Here are some pics:

Way from Aleg to Tidjikdja
http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy61/Cesc_90/MauritaniaySenegalMarzo07259.jpg

http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy61/Cesc_90/MauritaniaySenegalMarzo07278.jpg

http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy61/Cesc_90/MauritaniaySenegalMarzo07283.jpg

http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy61/Cesc_90/MauritaniaySenegalMarzo07286.jpg

Desert road to TICHIT
http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy61/Cesc_90/MauritaniaySenegalMarzo07422.jpg

Road leaving NEMA:
http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy61/Cesc_90/MauritaniaySenegalMarzo07717.jpg
http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy61/Cesc_90/MauritaniaySenegalMarzo07722.jpg

wouldn't like to be a donkey in this contry lol
http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy61/Cesc_90/MauritaniaySenegalMarzo07723.jpg

Great photos Alce. Looks you made a good trip in this country. I see you're from Spain, you might be going by your car or is it perhaps too ambitious and too dangerous? Generally, is it possible to see cars with european number plates? Have you been in Nouakchott, and drive on some of the dual carriageways in the city, what is traffic looks like? Why every second car is Mercedes 190? A lot of questions, but rarely can be hear experiences from this country. Thx

Great photos Alce. Looks you made a good trip in this country. I see you're from Spain, you might be going by your car or is it perhaps too ambitious and too dangerous? Generally, is it possible to see cars with european number plates? Have you been in Nouakchott, and drive on some of the dual carriageways in the city, what is traffic looks like? Why every second car is Mercedes 190? A lot of questions, but rarely can be hear experiences from this country. Thx

Thanks iMiros, the trip was awesome; Mauritania is a very special country, you can say it really hooks you. We didn't take our cars, we flew to Nouakchott via Dakar and rent two 4x4 with local drivers. but I met some people there who had gone from Spain with their motorbikes,(those were the only european number plates I saw ) but nowadays I wouldn't do it because alQaeda kidnapped three volunteers in the road that links Nouakchott with Nouadhibou.
And yes, we've been in Nouakchott and the traffic, well, in the city centre is just chaotic, specially around the central market, but I don't know why there are so many Mercedes 190.
I'm glad there are people who are interested in this country, because it's always been a big unknown..