After two long years of preparation, a Franco-Swiss team of 15 cavers left early this year for 2 months of a great Adventure in PAPUA NEW GUINEA rain forest. A complete immersion in Papuan territory, the discovery of an unknown mountain in the heart of the limestone mountains of Nakanai. The main goal of our trip and our only certainty before departure there was a huge resurgence in an idyllic location by the sea: WARA KALAP. 5 m3/sec spewed by the mountain, a dream for any caver in the world ...

Flo looking to Wara Kalap, the place were water spray out of the mountain

We were the first explorers in this area and all was to be discovered. A timeless journey into a fascinating world! The hot and humid forest is teeming with insects of all kinds, living conditions and progression have been very difficult, all team members were injured and / or sick ! The expedition was also an excuse to meet with Papous and their lifestyle halfway between tradition and modernity is happening to their doors. The opportunity to discuss the future of their lifestyle and their environment, one of the last rain forest in the world, fragile and highly threatened ....

Guillaume and Flo star to explore a new entrance they just discovered

After 3 weeks with nearly no results, everything was packed last week: 2 large sinkholes were discovered, 500 m depth in the first one, 600 m in the other. A major discoveries, hard to reach places, sometimes beautiful and the first steps in a large underground river. But is the collector even accessible ...

A beautifull galerie in Philip Pato cave at 500 m deep

These results are a real reward well deserved given the efforts of the team and the difficulties encountered.

The film directed by Mathieu Rivoire - The ILLUSTROSCOPE - recounts this adventure and will bring you into uncharted territory to explore the magical depths of Nakanai mountains !

If everything go right, the movie will be finish at the end of October and released at the Mountain Film festival in Grenoble.

14-113-p2160711

One of the amazing landscape we discovered during the expedition

P2260962

This shell is usefull to send messages from long distance to the village

P2023693

Here are the film project leaders : Cedric Lachat and Phil Bence

Cedric is wellknow for his climbing performances in competition and also is hard routes. He also like to fight with hard conditions in sport caves.

Phil is caving since more than 20 years now and as explore caves in 25 different countries around the world and like to bring back pictures from his underground trips

The last village before the rain forest and the camp in the mountain

Phil-4753

Our friends from Papua, their help was really usefull for our project

WARA KALAP - A caver's dream