Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl – the ‘smoking mountain’ and ‘the white woman’ respectively – are well-known by mountaineers, but also by everyone else thanks to the legendary love story behind them. In January 2020, during a trip to Mexico City, I visited Cholula, in the state of Puebla. Cholula is the longest continuously inhabited town in the country, and its colourful facades and spacious zócalo are a welcome break from the busy and polluted streets of the capital. But much as I love colours, that’s not what drew me there. It was the two imposing volcanoes.
Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl – what and where?
Popocatépetl – or Popo – is one of Mexico’s most active volcanoes and therefore it’s not open to hikers, but luckily this broken-hearted warrior turned into a mountain according to Aztec mythology is not alone. It’s just one of many along the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt (Eje Volcánico Transversal), which means climbing a nearby volcano offers stunning views of Popo. Iztaccíhuatl – or Izta – is part of the same national park, which makes it a great choice and, as a plus, it’s dormant – always a good thing when you’re mountaineering. The name means ‘white woman’ in Nahuatl and is the princess that unintentionally broke the warrior’s heart and ended up turning to stone, too.
The starting point to climb Izta can be the mountain pass Paso de Cortés, where the mountaineer centre for registration is located, but I’d recommend driving the 25 minutes to La Joya (4,003 m) to skip the boring bit and get straight to the action. Going all the way to the top takes two days, but we didn’t come for that. Given the altitude and the fact that we had been climbing on nearby volcano Malintzin (La Malinche) the day before, we decided to play it by ear and go as far up as we felt like. We followed the well-known trail Ruta de los portillos, and made it to the second one (4,371 m), which took about three and a half hours both ways, including stops to rest and take in the views.
The first segment is quite steep and better taken at a slow but steady pace. We’re not used to this altitude, but it doesn’t take long to learn that you feel tempted to stop every few minutes to catch your breath, which isn’t the best approach because you end up making little progress. Even if you recover incredibly fast when you stop, the shortness of breath starts to creep in again as soon as you resume the ascent. It’s a mental game of endurance and forcing yourself to ignore the burning desire (literally burning in your lungs) to take a break. It’s interesting how this steals the show from the actual climb effort and becomes challenge number 1.
As we neared the first portillo, the Popo appeared behind us against a blue sky, exhaling a cotton-like cloud of smoke that turned out to be a friendly warning of the explosion that took place five days later. We took a longer break here and sat to enjoy some bread and bananas, as carbohydrates are said to help with the symptoms of altitude sickness.
The slope to get to the second portillo was mostly scree, which required climbing sideways and resorting to both hands to try and find the rocks that didn’t move. I don’t like scree in my hikes, especially because as I ascend, I can’t help thinking how much more difficult the descent will be. In any case, the views from the second portillo were worth all the loose rocks: some of the curves of Izta’s body were crisp and clear, there were volcanic formations veiled in snow next to us and the view of Popo was uninterrupted.
Quesadilla Celebration
Although we were high on endorphins, blue skies and grey rocks, our lungs felt heavy and our legs a bit wobbly, so we did the sensible thing and started the climb down to La Joya. And as a key part of every outdoor activity is the ‘after-party’, we celebrated with a homemade blue corn quesadilla at one of the stalls in the car park – the best tortilla of the trip to Mexico.
If you too feel the call of the Earth’s open wounds, the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt, home to Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, is a great choice. You can either admire the volcanoes from a safe distance in the towns along its flanks or have the real experience, tie up your boots and go for it, whether you make it to the top or not, you will feel how something dormant inside you suddenly catches fire!
Do you want to have your routes and guides translated into Spanish? Let’s talk! I can help you make mountaineering accessible to Spanish speakers.
Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl refers to the volcanoes Popocatépetl ("the Smoking Mountain") and Iztaccíhuatl ("white woman" in Nahuatl, sometimes called the Mujer Dormida "sleeping woman" in Spanish) in Iztaccíhuatl–Popocatépetl National Park, which overlook the Valley of Mexico and the various myths explaining their ...
Popocatepetl and Iztaccíhuatl are the Aztec Romeo and Juliet – denied their love while alive but destined to spend eternity together. Now, as two volcanoes that set the backdrop for Mexico City, Izta and Popo, as they are affectionately called, are a symbol of love everlasting.
The story of Popocatépetl (Popo) and Iztaccihuatl (Izta) is the Aztec Romeo and Juliet, who were denied their love while they lived, but were destined to spend eternity together. Two volcanoes that form the backdrop of Mexico City.
Iztaccíhuatl is a massive 450 km3 stratovolcano SE of Mexico City, seen here from the SW. The summit is composed of several overlapping edifices, including the northernmost peak, La Cabeza (left), the snow-capped high point El Pecho, and Las Rodillas (below the lower Ayoloco glacier near the center).
The legend goes on to say that when the warrior Popocatepetl remembers his beloved, his heart – that preserves the fire of eternal passion – shakes and his torch smokes. That's why, even today; the Popocatepetl volcano continues spewing fumaroles.
In her grief, Iztaccíhuatl dies of a broken heart. Popocatepetl returns victorious but only to find his beloved had died. Overwhelmed, Popocatepetl wanders for days carrying Iztaccíhuatl and finally lays her body on top of a great mountain, covering her with a blanket of white snow and placing a kiss on her lips.
10 November 2017: at 7:25 local time, an eruption occurred. 15 December 2018: at 18:57 local time, the volcano spewed lava, ash and rocks. 22 January 2019: at 21:06 local time, the volcano spewed ash up to 3 km (9,800 ft) high and incandescent fragments 2 km (1.2 mi) away.
Iztaccíhuatl (from the Nahuatl for “white woman”) has three summits, the highest one reaching 17,159 feet (5,230 m), but no crater. As seen from the federal capital, the snow-covered peaks resemble the head, breast, and feet of a recumbent woman—hence the popular designation of sleeping woman.
The warrior was indeed victorious and returned that day to his beloved Mixtli only to find she had died of a broken heart. Grief stricken beyond any measure, Popoca carries her body to the mountains in the hopes that the cold snow would wake her from her eternal slumber.
Located about 45 miles southeast of Mexico City in central Mexico, the volcano is considered one of the most dangerous in the world, since roughly 25 million people live within 60 miles of it. Thus, it is also one of the world's most closely-monitored volcanoes.
The name Popocatépetl means "Smoking Mountain" (from Popoca/smoking and tepetl/mountain) and Iztaccíhuatl "White Woman" (from Iztac/white, cihuatl/woman), though Iztacchíhuatl is better known as "La mujer dormida/The sleeping woman," all names which, as we shall soon see, were aptly assigned (for example, if you look ...
Popocateptl (Popo-ca-te'-petal) is a steep-sided stratovolcano that rises to an elevation of 5452 m (17,883 ft) above sea level and was popular with mountain climbers until recent activity put the summit off-limits.
The name "Iztaccíhuatl" is Nahuatl for "White woman", reflecting the four individual snow-capped peaks which depict the head, chest, knees and feet of a sleeping female when seen from east or west.
The name Popocatépetl comes from the Nahuatl words popōca ( Nahuatl pronunciation: [poˈpoːka]) "it smokes" and tepētl [ˈtepeːt͡ɬ] "mountain", meaning Smoking Mountain.
The name "Iztaccíhuatl" is Nahuatl for "White woman", reflecting the four individual snow-capped peaks which depict the head, chest, knees and feet of a sleeping female when seen from east or west.
Traditionally, the name Tenochtitlan was thought to come from Nahuatl tetl [ˈtetɬ] ("rock") and nōchtli [ˈnoːtʃtɬi] ("prickly pear") and is often thought to mean, "Among the prickly pears [growing among] rocks."
In this story, Iztaccíhuatl, the daughter of an Aztec emperor, falls in love with a commoner named Popocatépetl. The emperor agrees that she may only marry him if he becomes an Eagle Knight in battle, but a cunning warrior wants Iztaccíhuatl for himself.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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