Volcan La Malinche

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The hike up La Malinche is rewarding for its beautiful views and a nice summit. As compared to some of the other volcanoes in the region, the trailhead starts relatively low at 3100m (10,170ft) and goes through beautiful forest before emerging above the treeline. From the treeline it's a fun hike to the summit with a couple of places where some scrambling is needed. On a clear day, you can see the peaks for Iztaccihuatl, Popocatépetl, and Citlaltépetl (Pico De Orizaba) from the peak of La Malinche.

From the parking lot, the first two miles of trail criss crosses the road, after which you stay right to continue on the main trail.

The trail starts at the parking lot of Centro Vacacional IMSS Malintzi, Parque Nacional Malintzi. The road is blocked for cars at the parking lot. From the parking lot, start your outing on the road and, after a few minutes, a big trail should appear on your right-hand side. Take this trail as it criss-crosses the road several times. After about 2 mi, the trail splits to the right from the road and start climbing up a steep slope. For the next mile, the trail is fairly steep, finally getting you to the tree line and out of the forest. Just before you exit the tree line, there are a few camping spots where you can see people camping for a summit attempt.

Above the tree-line, there are two trails you can take. If you go left of a wash, you can take up a scree slope that leads to the summit. If you keep straight to slight right, you can continue up the hillside and gain the ridge at 4000m. From here, you can follow the trail right up until you hit a headwall. Skirt around the right of the headwall and keep continuing along the ridge. Finally the summit will come into view. The trail is fairly well marked and easy to follow.

The last 20 feet of the summit will require some scrambling on good rock.