Iztaccihuatl

Iztaccihuatl reclines beside Popocatepetl exactly as the legend says: a sleeping woman in profile - head, breast, belly, knees and feet in successive summits - mourned by the smoking warrior across the pass. At 5,215 metres she is Mexico's third mountain, and unlike her erupting neighbor she can be climbed. The standard route from La Joya, above the 3,600-metre saddle of Paso de Cortes, works up the Arista del Sol over the Knees toward El Pecho, the Breast and the mountain's true summit - a long, high scramble over volcanic rubble, old snowfields and the remnants of shrinking glaciers, with the smoking cone of Popocatepetl filling the southern sky at every rest stop. Strong acclimatized parties do it in a brutal single day; most overnight at the Refugio de los Cien hut. Below the climbing zone, day-walkers roam pine forests and amphitheater meadows around Paso de Cortes, where the twin-volcano views cost nothing but the drive from Amecameca.

What you actually see

• The Sleeping Woman profile - the five-summit silhouette of legend.
• Popocatepetl smoking - the warrior volcano across the pass.
• The Arista del Sol - scree, snow patches and glacier remnants.
• Paso de Cortes - the 3,600-metre saddle where Cortes crossed in 1519.

When to go

November to March for frozen-firm ground and clear dawns; summit parties start pre-dawn to beat cloud. Summer brings daily storms and soft, unpleasant snow.

Honest expectations

This is a serious high-altitude ascent - acclimatization days, warm gear, helmet and an experienced guide are the sensible standard, and conditions on the upper snowfields change year to year. Registration at the park station is required. Casual visitors should treat Paso de Cortes and the meadows as the destination - they are spectacular in their own right.

Nearby

Amecameca's sacro monte and market at the mountain's foot; the Popocatepetl monasteries ring the volcano's skirts.