Veryovkina Cave

Veryovkina Cave has a verified depth of approximately 2,212 meters (about 7,257 feet), making it the deepest known cave in the world as confirmed by surveys in 2018. The record was established by the Perovo-speleo caving expedition team from Russia. It surpassed the nearby Krubera Cave, which had previously held the record at approximately 2,199 meters.

Veryovkina Cave is located in the Arabika Massif of the Gagra Range in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia in the western Caucasus Mountains. The cave entrance sits at an elevation of approximately 2,285 meters above sea level. The Arabika Massif is known for containing several of the world's deepest cave systems.

Krubera Cave, also located in the Arabika Massif in Abkhazia, was the previous record holder at approximately 2,199 meters deep. Krubera had been considered the world's deepest cave since its exploration in the early 2000s by the same Perovo-speleo team. Veryovkina surpassed it in 2018 after years of systematic exploration.

Expeditions into Veryovkina Cave require multi-day trips through extreme vertical drops, narrow squeezes, and underground rivers, with teams camping deep underground at the minus-1,000-meter level and beyond. Flash flooding from rainfall on the surface can rapidly fill shafts, and several explorers have narrowly escaped drowning during sudden water surges. Each push deeper requires extensive logistical support and rope rigging.