Expedition will try to prove that the Amazon River is longer than the Nile

What is the longest river in the world: the Nile or the Amazon? An international expedition of explorers will try to resolve the dispute that has been dragging on for decades, traveling in ecological boats the river that bathes the largest rain forest of the planet.

In three boats powered by solar and pedal energy, the expedition “Amazon River: from ice to sea” It intends to set sail in April 2024 from the Peruvian Andes and travel almost 7,000 km in six months, passing through Colombia and Brazil, to the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean.

“The main objective is to map the river and document the biodiversity” for scientific purposes and to make a documentary, said Brazilian explorer Yuri Sanada, coordinator of the project.

Until now, only a dozen people are known to have ventured across the entire Amazon by kayak, but no one ever did so, says Sanada, who runs the audiovisual production company Aventuras Produções with his wife Vera Sanada.

Recognized as the mightiest river on the planet, the length of the Amazon has, however, been the subject of dispute for decades, either because it can vary depending on the methodology or because there is no consensus on something very basic: where the river begins and ends.

The Guinness Book of Records attributes the throne to the African river.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the South American river is about 6,400 km long, from its attributed headwaters in the Apurímac River, in southern Peru, while the Nile, 6,650 km.

In 2014, American neuroscientist and explorer James Contos put forward an alternative theory, according to which the Amazon could be traced back to the headwaters of another river, the Mantaro, located further north in the mountains of northern Peru.

If the expedition takes into account that point as origin and a “mouth further south” delta, this could “result in a greater length of the Amazon compared to the Nile”Contos explained.

Rafting, horseback riding and solar canoeing

The expedition coordinated by Sanada will travel these two slopes in parallel: one group, guided by Contos, will go rafting down the fast waters of the Mantaro, while another will travel the shores of the Apurímac on horseback, with the French explorer Céline Cousteau, granddaughter of the legendary oceanographer Jacques Cousteau.

Where these two watercourses meet, Sanada and two other explorers will begin the longest leg of the trip in individual canoes made of bioresin and powered by solar panel and pedal motors, designed specifically for the expedition.

Navigating the entire length of the river with a sensor, “we will be able to make a much more precise measurement”Sanada explains.

The journey will be accompanied in some sections by a support boat, which will serve as a base for audiovisual and scientific tasks.

One goal of the project, which is supported by international organizations such as The Explorers Club and the Harvard Map Library, is to teach local indigenous people sustainable engine technology to reduce their dependence on gasoline, Sanada says.

armed escort

Anacondas, alligators, jaguars… none of the animals they will find on the way intimidate Sanada.

“What I am most afraid of is the traffickers and illegal miners”recognize.

For this reason, they will add a bulletproof cabin to the ships and are negotiating with the authorities the possibility of having an armed escort in the most dangerous sections.

If successful, the expedition can be replicated later on the Nile, Sanada says.

For the Brazilian, the controversy over the longest river may never be settled. But the interest aroused by this “career” It serves to draw attention to the natural wealth of Brazil and the preservation of the planet.

“The Amazon is (partly) in Brazil, but the consequences of destroying it and the duty to preserve it belong to everyone”defend.

Source: AFP