Warning - Mauritania/Senegal Border (Rosso)
 

Over the last month I've spoken to dozens of travellers who have had problems crossing into Senegal via Rosso with vehicles.

It appears that officials on both sides of the border are colluding with local touts in order to extort money from vehicle owners.

Typical scams include vehicle documents being 'lost' after officials hand them over to touts on the RIM side, and obligatory cleaning or even car parking charges on the Senegalese side. All manner of tricks are being used, including physical intimidation, and the motorists are typically paying E120 in bribes to get across.

Matters were not helped when a group from the Plymouth-Dakar Rally recently had to resort to ramming the gates on the Senegalse side, (though personally I take my hat off to them).

If you are travelling this way you are strongly advised to take the dam crossing at Diama - just before you get in to Rosso, and about 100m before the road turns to the right next to a petrol station, there is a dirt road on the right which is easy to follow (west), and leads to the piste to Diama without going in to town - you basically follow the dyke all the way, no guide necessary.

Try to avoid going as far as the petrol station as once there the hassle is unbelievable, and the misinformation, even from uniformed police, is outrageous (we were barred from taking the direct route through town to the piste and forced onto the ferry road by gendarmes).

You will likely hear all manner of bollocks about the piste being blocked, flooded, closed or whatever - this can all be ignored, as can any advice about changing currency (you will need Ougs to exit anyway), and insurance is available in a safer environment in Diama once you get over the border.

Perhaps this thread should be brought to the attention of the UK Foreign Office in order that they might raise the matter with the relavent Ambassadors in London - clearly what is happening here is of no advatage to anybody expect a few corrupt officials and the touts

Hi,

I can confirm all of this information. Been there about one year ago. Things haven't changed, and probably are getting worse.
Additional information under http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb...ML/000331.html

However, in July/August (rain season peak) the piste to Diama may be in fact blocked due to the mud.
In all other months it is a better option than Rosso.

I am very glad that this has been brought up. I made the very big mistake of crossing the boarder at Rosso and to be frank it verged on being animalistic! I did not heed the advise given to me by a fellow traveller of crossing at the dam and suffered a barage of physical abuse, corruption, humiliation, rip-off merchants, behaviour of near animal instinct! I crossed the boarder in a series 3 with my fiancee and managed to bulldoze my way out the other side but in state of fear and shock. I will not go into details right now but in my years of travelling I have never been blocked in on purpose and then add insult to injury, I was asked to pay to be shown the way to reverse my vehicle out of a tight spot ( a mere 3-4 meters), when I refused things got nasty and I had to simply put the vehicle in first and plough my way through. To be honest I could not have cared less if I had to scrape one of them of the front bumper!

I agree with the last post in that something has to be done, either by the foreign office or constant pressure on Mauritania and Senegal to get their act together. This boarder crossing was downright neanderthal in every way and I am not sorry for using these words and quite frankly I have had enough of being politicaly correct and tolerant! It is about time these kind of places were reported and systematic and ruthless action taken to root out whoever is causing this mess.It really is a senseless, lawless and brutal place. West Africa itself is a great place and we encountered very little trouble, if any, throughout the 12000 kms we travelled from top to bottom but the Rosso boarder will stick in my memoery for a very long time and I have vowed never to go there again as long as I live. When people threaten my fiancee and my property then another level is reached where one must give as good as one gets. You have my complete support in helping with this case.

Thanks and regards!

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I agree that both Rosso and Diama are among the worst border crossings anywhere in West Africa, if not the whole of Africa. Ive passed by Rosso about 12 times and the first time it was intimidating.

The problem is that the touts who are at the border see you coming and know that intimidation works. The other problem is that people who do experience problems at the border usually calm down after a couple of days in Senegal and dont bother reporting this. The proper procedure would be to report this to the embassy/consulate and then follow this up a week or two later. If they have no official reply then keep insisting on one until you get it. This may seem farfetched but it worked at the border entering Nouadhibou. Several car dealers (overwhelmingly French) whoi I know who come down several times a year made repeasted complaints to the French embassy in Nouakchott. At some stage the embassy got pissed off, got onto the Ministry of the Interior and things did actually change. The border crossing there is now way better than it was a couple of years ago.

You may think that after having crossed the border "what the hell, its all over now" but it isnt going to change anything.

The proper procedure to cross is as follows.
1. On entering Rosso you may be stopped by a policeman (or someone in uniform)just outside the compound. He will ask you for all your papers. This dude has only been appearing over the last year or so and is a fake. He may ask you for an "all in one price" to pass the border including the ferry charge, if he does this then he is definitly is a fake. If he doesnt give you your papers back then walk into an office and get help from a policeman there. Dont be violent though, he may be a genuine cop.

2. On entering the compound there is a low building in the middle. The office nearest the river is thge police, go here first, give in your driving licence get registered, pay UM500 and keep the long receipt.

3. Go back to the two storey building which was on your right as you passed the gate, go upstairs and have your car deregistered from the passport (or stamp your carnet), pay UM1000.

4. Go downstairs and into the small office to pay the ferry fee. The price is written on the ticket. There is also a Tax-en-commune to be paid of UM800 or so.

5. You may be asked into the low building to have your currency declaration form checked. Pay nothing here.

6. Make sure that your passport gets stamped to leave. You may be asked to pay UM1000 but this is not official. Make your own mind up if you want to pay this or sit it out and argue.

7. When waiting for the ferry you may/will be subjected to all sorts of threats/offers etc about not being able to get onto thew ferry without paying a hefty "fine". This is crap. The guy who decides who gets on or not is on the ferry itself. It all works on a first come-first served system, although locals may be given preferential treatment.

Senegal
1.As the boat lands in Senegal a uniformed policeman wilk ask your for your passport, carte grise, driving licence and maybe your yellow vacination card. Give him this. If you are unsure as to whether he is a policeman give him nothing.

2.The low building on the left is where your passport gets stamped. Queue at the window facing the river. In the office behind this is where you will find your driving licence. If the guys who stamp your passport ask you for CFA1,000 for stamping the passport then in my expereience it is better to give it to them, you may need their help later on. Give the guy with your driving licence nothing.

3.Go with your carte grise into the building on the other side, and either have your carnet stamped or get your passavant (laisser paisser) issued. Pay CFA2,500 or CFA5,000 if it is outside of normal working hours.

4. If you havent already gotten insurance then walk out of the compound about 100m dowm the street on the right there is an insurance office. (It may be easier to get the insurance in Nouakchott or Rosso-Mauritanie).

5. Pay the tosser (and he is one) at the gate the tax-en-commune. It is judged on the size of vehicle but they usually charge CFA1,000 for a car or 4X4 500 for a small one.

6. About 1km outside of Rosso there is a customs checkpoint . Pay nothing here.

I suppose things have changed for the worse since the Plymoth Dakar rally boys had their bit of fun and I presume some people are letting their frustration out on those who are following. I passed in December and it was as above. I'll be passing again in the next couple of weeks so I'll see what happens.

Excellent and accurate description Kevin !!

Nevertheless, I would recommend the Diama barrage. Far less hassle, just a few checkpoint along the piste, and a much nicer view. The piste runs between two Protected areas (Djoudj National Park on the south and Dwiling N.P. on the north), so you’ll get plenty of wildlife – flamingos, pelicans, herons, fish eagles, monitor lizards, pythons, etc.
The piste is reasonable and easily done in a 2WD. Just be careful during the rainy season !

José

Hello eveyone,

just back from an 18.000 km trip from Holland to Calabar (Nigeria) and back and as said the Rosso border crossing is the worst by far, but I have a name to avoid at all costs, the biggest thief of all at the RIM side, he will be waiting outside the gate of the ferry compound
Brigadier-sergeant Diop (has official ID)
tell him he is on the net markerd as corrupt , hopefully it will scare him and his fellows a lot
I hope someone is goiing to use this name to clear things over there,

all other borders are courteous and relatively fast, no carnet needed anywhere
except to cross into Nigeria but we got in telling the border officials that since the Euro came in Europe, all carnets are vanished and only the "carte grise" is a valid document, keep the story up,pay nothing

border fees for a "laisser passez" is usually around 2000-5000 CFA (Euro 3 -7,5)

keep smiling, and do not look to hurried and things go more smoothly

Johan

G'day
Even if you have sold your car in RIM, you have to watch it!
Customs on the Maur. side in Rosso collects your "Quitus", that you get when you import your car in RIM and then on the other side of the river, in Senegal, this fat guy, wants to see your " mauritanian quitus", that is just taken away from you!! or pay 100.000 CFA (150 Eu) please. Well, he got nothing from us, but watch it. I suggest, make a copy or don't give it away to customs, just show it.
An hour North of Rosso, I was asked for an "acte de vente" or something I didn't have; here too, I did not pay anything.
It's all nonsense.

We came through Diama last Saturday with no hassles at all. Everyone was very pleasant on both sides. Paid a little money on the Senegal side, but nothing over the top. Given what has been said about Rosso, I can't see why anyone would cross there.

Daivd

Beeing in a hurry and doing Djama the last years for more than 15 times, i wanted to see if anything has changed in Rosso since i crossed here for the last time in 1997. It didn't. Although we had less problems, probably because we were crossing south - north from Senegal to Mauritania. You can't avoid someone helping you. You're lucky when you have to pay only one! They did a trick with the insurrance. Always check the price (2wd around 2400 um for ten days, 4wd 4000 um for the same period). Our assistant wanted 50 euro's, because thats what he told us he had paid. If you have to change money expect to get no more than 250 um for one euro. In Nkt or Ndb you can get 270 or even 280. Intimidation and briding was all around. The policeofficer, created a problem because our two children were in my wife's passport: old model without pics like in the new model. Stay firm, they're only trying. But want to make a remark about Djama: it's not paradise. Mauretanian police and customs are asking more and more money for there services wich you can negotiate. Diama is one of the most expensive borderposts in Africa. You have to pay at the Mauretanian side: police, custons (sometimes 1000 um sometimes 1500 um), taxe communale (1000 um each vehicle. At the Senegalese side you have tot pay the peage for the barrage (4000 cfa), police (the only place in Senegal were you have to pay the police while entering) and the customs (5000 cfa instead of 2500 everywhere else in Senegal). At last there's the insurrance.

I mentioned the problem to the British Ambassador in Dakar - still no reply to my email to the FCO at the start of this thread though...

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Peter Strong
www.iricon.com/camel
A tour of Land Rover Garages in Africa