The caves were first reached by Charles Brewer-Carías and David Nott in 1970 when they landed on the summit by helicopter and descended using ropes and a caving ladder. It was first climbed by Stephen Platt, David Nott, Wilmer Perez and Carlos Reyes in 1974 via the North Ridge. The ascent took three days and the party spent four days mapping the caves before descending by abseil. A team of skydivers and film-makers made tandem parachute jumps onto the summit in 1985, producing a documentary called "Skydive to Autana".