Hiking to the top of Nevado de Toluca in Mexico

I really enjoyed exploring Mexico City, but I wanted to take advantage of this first trip to Mexico to do some hiking. I decided to take on a big challenge: climbing to the summit of Nevado de Toluca, the fourth-highest mountain in the country.

Located in the State of Mexico, near the city of Toluca, Nevado de Toluca is an inactive volcano known for its magnificent caldera, which contains two alpine lakes. Since the mountain is located a reasonable distance from Mexico City, it’s a very popular spot for hikers.

But at an elevation of over 4,000 metres (13,000 feet), the hike to the summit of Nevado de Toluca is no small feat! This was my first time venturing to such a high altitude, so I was a little nervous to see if I could handle these conditions.

***As I was traveling alone in Mexico, I booked a guided hiking trip with the company Mexico Travesías to be able to do this hike. This company offers mountain hiking excursions with experienced guides. I really enjoyed my experience and highly recommend them. ***

The arrival

Accompanied by our guide Allan, our small group of four hikers left Mexico City early on a Saturday morning, heading for Nevado de Toluca, located southwest of the capital. The drive took us just under two hours, and after paying the access fee and parking the car in the lot at the base of the mountain, we boarded a camioneta that would take us to the trailhead.

The gravel road winds up the mountainside, and the bumpy climb made me feel a bit motion sick. But upon reaching the trailhead, I quickly forgot my nausea and anxiety. I was at over 4,000 metres, the highest I’d ever been. Before me stretched the Toluca Valley (partly covered in a thick layer of smog).

Our guide had warned us: the wind at this altitude is biting and cold. I had dressed warmly, but it still surprised me. I was also struck by the almost desert-like appearance of the surroundings. This is one of the reasons why Nevado de Toluca is a protected area. It’s home to unique flora and fauna, adapted to the extreme conditions of this alpine climate.

The hike began with a gentle but still fairly short climb (about 800 metres / 874 yards). A climb that I would have found quite easy under other circumstances, but which I found a little more arduous due to the altitude. Oxygen is scarcer at high altitudes, and I could feel myself having a little more difficulty catching my breath than usual. Our guide made sure we climbed slowly, while regularly checking that we weren’t developing symptoms related to acute altitude sickness.

Then after what seemed like a very slow climb, we arrived at Paso del Quetzal, and we were able to get our first view of the caldera and the summit of Nevado de Toluca. Wow!

Laguna de la Luna and the climb

For many visitors, Paso del Quetzal is the final destination of the hike. For us, it was just the beginning.

There are several ways to reach the summit. Some people begin the climb to the rocky ridge of the volcano’s crater at this point. Instead, we began by descending in the crater, towards one of the lagoons, Laguna de la Luna (Moon Lagoon). This is the smaller of the two.

Pre-Hispanic peoples are said to have venerated the lagoons and often left offerings there. It’s easy to understand why. Against the lunar landscape, the crystal-clear water stands out, and the location is particularly photogenic.

There were several hikers near Laguna de la Luna. One of the most popular hikes in the area is the one that circles both lagoons, in the crater. But we had a slightly more ambitious goal. So, after hiking by the Lagoon of the Moon, we began climbing toward the rocky crater ridge.

This climb was a little more arduous than the first one. The elevation gain was a bit steeper, and the dusty and rocky trail sometimes felt like we were climbing over sandy, unstable ground. But the higher I climbed, the more impressive the scenery became. I began to get a better view of Laguna del Sol (Lagoon of the Sun), and then, on the eastern horizon, I could see the distinctive silhouettes of Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, the second and third highest mountains in Mexico.

We took another break once we reached the crater ridge. I was feeling tired, but I felt like my body was coping well with the high altitude so far. We were now at an elevation of nearly 4,500 metres (14,763 feet).

The crater ridge and the summit… or almost

Up until this point, the hike hadn’t seemed particularly difficult. Yes, I could feel the impact of the altitude and the lack of oxygen, but I had the impression that the trail hadn’t been very technical. Things were about to change, however.

As we progressed along the crater ridge, I realized we were heading towards a rocky escarpment. The trail seemed to end at this scree slope, and I had difficulty seeing where we were going to continue climbing.

At one point, Allan told us to put away our hiking poles and put on our helmets. Because for the next few kilometres to the summit, we were going to need our hands to climb from rock to rock.

I admit I started to feel a little more anxious at this point. I love hiking in the mountains, but my experience with scrambling and technical hikes is very limited (McKenzie Mountain in the Adirondacks is perhaps one of the most technical climbs I’ve done to date). But it was too late to back out, so I continued following the group and started scrambling over the rocks.

So we continued slowly climbing the rocky ridgeline. There are several peaks on this ridge, and we skirted three of them, en route to the highest of them, Pico del Fraile (which has an elevation of 4,680 metres / 15,354 feet). We had to use our hands and follow the “three-point rule” to maintain our balance, but I was surprised to realize that I could continue progressing without too much difficulty.

Then, after skirting another rocky peak, Pico del Fraile appeared in front of us. We were now at an elevation of 4,600 metres (15,091 feet) and had less than a kilometre to go before reaching the final point of our hike. The summit seemed so close…

Except… except that it was at this moment that one of our group members started to feel really uncomfortable and experienced some symptoms of altitude sickness. We took a long break to give her time to rest and acclimatize to the altitude. We then tried to continue climbing, but a few metres later, it became clear that things weren’t improving.

Since acute mountain sickness is something that must be taken seriously, it was unfortunately impossible for us to continue the climb. I was disappointed to have to turn back, so close to the summit, but at the same time, incredibly proud to have made it this far. After one last look at the magnificent landscape, we began to descend.

Laguna del Sol and the descent

We slowly scrambled back down along the rocky ridge, following the same path and continuing to use our hands and feet. Then, once we were done with the technical section, we picked up our hiking poles again, and Allan led us down another trail to return down into the crater, this time by Laguna del Sol.

It was as I descended from the volcano’s ridge that I realized how tired and nauseous I felt. I think the adrenaline rush didn’t make me realize that I, too, was experiencing some symptoms of altitude sickness. The symptoms improved as I descended, but I was starting to look forward to the end of the hike.

So perhaps I didn’t fully appreciate the majestic beauty of the Lagoon of the Sun. The sparkling waters of the lagoon and the rocky crater ridge in the background looked like they came straight out of a postcard.

We hiked around Laguna del Sol, then had one last climb to reach Paso del Quetzal again and complete the loop. This last climb was probably the most difficult part of the hike for me. I was completely drained of energy and out of breath.

Then we returned to our starting point and descended the mountain in a camioneta (where motion sickness hit me so hard that it took me several minutes afterward for the nausea to subside).

I returned to Mexico City completely exhausted and still a little dizzy and nauseous, but truly proud of the accomplishment. I didn’t quite reach the summit of Nevado de Toluca, but I covered over 9 kilometres at high altitude, in a landscape that seemed like something out of another world. This hike will remain etched in my memory for a long time. And maybe one day I’ll come back to try again to reach the summit of Nevado de Toluca.