Oualata
Arabic: ولاتة | |
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Commune and town | |
![]() View of the town looking in a southeasterly direction | |
Coordinates: 17°18′00″N 7°01′30″W / 17.3°N 7.025°W | |
Country | Mauritania |
Region | Hodh Ech Chargui |
Population (2013 census)[1] | |
• Total | 13,086 |
Official name | Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | iii, iv, v |
Designated | 1996 (20th session) |
Reference no. | 750 |
Region | Arab States |
Oualata or Walata (Arabic: ولاتة) (also Biru in 17th century chronicles)[2] is a small oasis town in southeast Mauritania, located at the eastern end of the Aoukar basin. Oualata was important as a caravan city in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as the southern terminus of a trans-Saharan trade route and now it is a World Heritage Site.