Francesco Sauro is leading the Kumerau Cave Expedition 2026 (Guyana)

Speleologist Francesco Sauro, researcher at the Department of Geosciences with extensive experience from missions around the world, is currently in Guyana leading an international, multidisciplinary team to the remote tepui mountains along the Kurupung River. The expedition aims to conduct a speleological and geomorphological study of a sandstone cave behind the imposing Kumerau waterfalls, whose genesis remains unknown.

Titled “Beyond the Falls – Kumerau Cave Expedition 2026”, the scientific expedition is a collaboration between the Department of Geosciences at the University of Padua and the Department of Geography at the University of Guyana, and was preceded by a series of seminars delivered by Sauro at the partner institution.

The expedition is supported by Rolex Perpetual Planet and was awarded an Explorers Club Flag - following the Club’s tradition to promote the work of Exploration in all continents, in the seas and in space. The logistic is managed thanks to the agency Blackwater Adventures from Guyana.

Modern geographical exploration is more than the discovery of new territories—it is a vital tool for understanding and protecting Earth’s biodiversity and geological heritage.