Mexico Tourism Weblog / » Best Volcanoes in Mexico: Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl

When not obscured by Mexico City‘s famous smog, the country’s second- and third-highest mountains dominate the skyline south of the capital, with the classic, symmetrical cone of “Popo” rising above the four irregular peaks of craterless “Izta.” It’s an iconic image that inspired the Aztec version of Romeo and Juliet, in which the warrior Popo stands inconsolably over the dead princess Izta for all time.

Popocatépatl (“Smoking Mountain” in the Náhuatl language), whose explosions were recorded in Aztec codices, has been closed to climbers since it roared back to life in 1994; although it has since simmered down, Popo still sends up the occasional ash plume. Hikers can still explore forested trails, including educational nature paths, at lower elevations. Climbers, who for decades have used Popo’s icy slopes as a training ground for Himalayan peaks, can instead ascend long-dormant Iztaccíhuatl (“White Lady”).  Go to Mexico and live and unique experience in Popocatépatl…!Source:sfgate.com

Parque Nacional Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatéptl is 45 miles southeast of Mexico City. The base town of Amecameca, with its 16th century churches and lively market, is worth exploring. So is Puebla, a picturesque colonial city renowned for its cuisine and Talavera pottery, 27 miles east of the park. Literary-minded visitors might prefer to bunk south of the capital in Cuernavaca — fictionalized in Malcolm Lowry’s “Under the Volcano” as the city of Quauhnahuac.

Compártelo!

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