Cave Exploration 

Exploration: The Essence of Cave Diving

Exploration is the heart of cave diving. The opportunity to discover pristine passageways and map unseen worlds is what many consider the last frontier of human discovery on Earth.

For those familiar with cave diving, names like Ox Bel Ha and Sac Actun are almost mythical. These two underwater cave systems are the longest in the world, located in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, concentrated around the area of Tulum. This is why I moved here—Quintana Roo has around 1,000 kilometers of known cave passages, with so much more left to discover.

My dream of becoming a cave explorer began in 1998, when I started diving the caves in Bassano del Grappa, my hometown in northern Italy, situated at the foot of the mountains. Just 20 minutes away were beautiful, deep, and cold caves. When you fully dedicate yourself to a dream, it eventually becomes a reality. In 2007, the allure of what lay beneath the surface and around the next corner became too strong to resist. I made this cave-rich region my home and transformed my passion into a career.

I’ve been cave diving since 2001 and exploring since 2009. It was during my first dive with a new side-mount harness, enjoying the newfound freedom it offered, that I decided to test it in a major restriction. I unclipped my tanks, moved them in front of me, and passed through a restriction that would have been impossible with back-mount gear. On the other side, a virgin passage opened up, leading to a tunnel that, a few months later, would connect to a major cave system—my first important connection!

Since then, I’ve dedicated most of my time to exploration, pushing deeper into the timeless caves of Quintana Roo. I’ve also had the incredible opportunity to participate in the first expedition to the Mahafali Karst Plain in southern Madagascar and explore the cold caves of my home country, Italy. Over the years, my skills, experience, and knowledge of this extraordinary environment have grown, as has my fascination with the unknown parts of our planet.

Exploration requires exceptional skills, boundless curiosity, and, above all, dedication. If you’re determined to discover what lies beyond the next corner and are ready to commit to the necessary training while understanding and accepting the risks involved, then there is a cave waiting for you to explore!

Becoming a cave explorer takes time and effort, but it rewards you with the ability to visit incredible, previously unseen places!

Notable Exploration Projects:

  • 2009: Sistema Xunaan Ha Resurvey and Exploration—The project began in 2009 and, within two years, expanded the cave system to over 50 km. Mauro was responsible for key connections with Cenote Palomita, Sistema X-Casel, and Sistema Pitch, among others. Exploration is ongoing, aiming to find a new entrance for easier access to the upstream end of the line (11,890 feet from air).

  • 2010: Exploration of Sistema Three Holes, Cenote Balan Ak, and Sistema Under the Bridge (Playa del Carmen, Mexico).

  • 2011: Exploration of Sistema Lycka (Tulum), Sistema Ek Be (Chemuyil), Cenote Sand Crack (Tulum), and Cenote Doggi (Muyil, Mexico).

  • 2012-2013: Exploration of Sistema Sand Crack, Sistema Caterpillar, Sistema Doggi, Sistema Nohoch Pek, Cenote Jaguar House, Sistema Chikeen, Sistema Red Dragon, Cenote Iron Monkey, and Sistema Murena, among others.

  • 2014: Exploration in the Riviera Maya and participation in the first Mahafali Karst Exploration Project in Madagascar, funded by the National Science Foundation and National Geographic.

  • 2015-2016: Continued exploration in the Riviera Maya, with discoveries such as new caves like Galaxians, El Guano, and The Nest. In August 2016, explored Grotta dell’Acqua Nera, Veneto, Italy.

  • 2017: First explorations with the Mexico Cave Survey and Mexican Cave Exploration Project, including historic parts of Ox Bel Ha.

  • 2018: Focused on various Mexican projects and practiced CCR and mixed gas diving in preparation for upcoming explorations in Italy and Bosnia. Explored the flooded “Missouri” copper mine in Arizona, a unique discovery at 5,900 feet (1,800 meters) elevation in the desert.

  • 2020-2021: Exploration centered around Xunaan Ha, using CCRs and DPVs to extend the original end of the line by 6 km and explore multiple new passages.

  • 2021: Returned to Grotta dell’Acqua Nera in Northern Italy, a project that started over 20 years ago with friends from GGG (Gruppo Grotte Giara Modon). The cave is challenging, requiring three days to set up exploration in Sump 3, where the cave continues.

  • 2022: Continued exploration of Xunaan Ha. In June, traveled to Croatia to take part in the Izvor Ličanke CDG Project. In two explorations with Osama Gobara, we cracked Sump 5 and reached Sump 10, adding around 900 meters of dry and underwater passages. In Italy, we extended Acqua Nera by about 300 meters in Sump 3.

  • 2023: Continued exploration of Acqua Nera in Sump 3, reaching the end of the line at a depth of 4 meters, potentially leading to a post-siphon passage.          We then visited Bosnia Herzegovina with Karst Odyssey, where we managed to climb a waterfall at Mracaj, adding a few hundred meters of cave through three sumps.

  • 2024: In April, invited to explore Sump 2 of the Rio Uluapan resurgence with the Beyond the Sump team. After challenging dives lasting 13-14 hours, we significantly extended the sump to a depth of 117 meters, uncovering multiple passages that trend upwards and shallower. BTS logistics were a great addition to our diving logistics making long decompressions a lot safer.

    In summer we returned to Mracaj, but the cave walled out after 100 meters. Severe rain prevented us from checking other planned sites.
    Back in Italy, Acqua Nera surprised us with a steep descent after emerging into a gas pocket, taking us to a depth of 54 meters after traveling 300 meters, promising interesting logistics for exploration in 2025.

  • 2025 We returned to Tamaulipas, where, over the course of three dives, we managed to extend Santa Clara to a depth of 154 meters, with no bottom in sight. The diving was extremely challenging due to reduced visibility of about 3 meters. Afterward, we focused on San Rafael, reaching the end of previously explored passages. Upon descending into an 80-meter deep fissure, we discovered a 100-meter long horizontal tunnel that led to two giant shafts, separated by a keyhole-style passage. Additionally, we explored a new sump in Cueva Juan del Capitán, quickly reaching a depth of 74 meters with horizontal passages continuing beyond.
    We also visited the Rio Tamuin resurgence but visibility was close to zero even at depth so exploration was not possible.

To follow Mauro’s explorations more closely, keep an eye on his Instagram and Facebook pages.