— La Malinche —
If you are passing through Puebla and you are sporty, it is impossible not to climb the volcano "La Malinche", the 5th highest peak in Mexico.
La Malinche is indeed the 5th highest peak in Mexico with 4461m of altitude at the top. It is a hike accessible to all, but it should not be taken with a pinch of salt!
First step
Access to the national park
Get up early, but not too early either! Don't make the same mistake we did. The national park opens at 7am and closes at 7pm. If you arrive too early, you won't be able to get through the gate, and the start of the hike is 10/15 km from the park entrance.
How to get there? We took an Uber directly from Puebla, which took us about an hour. So try to arrive early enough to have time to spare and get to the top with as few people as possible!
The start of the hike is at "Resort IMSS Malintzi". You type in this address on the UBER application. It is a holiday resort, a kind of camping site. So you can sleep there the night before!
Step 2
The climb
Let's go for the big day! And a reminder:
Rule number 1 -> Don't complain / Rule number 2 : Don't underestimate the mountain
Now that you have these two rules in mind, you can go. Depending on your pace, it will take you between 3.5 and 5 hours to reach the summit. You will start with about 1.5 to 2 hours of climbing through the forest, then you will come out of the forest and see the summit. Depending on the season, you may see the summit covered in snow, but don't worry, you can still climb to the top.
Once you see the summit, the hardest part remains: a portion with a very steep slope to reach the first viewpoint. Some people stop at this very high point. For the tougher ones, you'll still have 30 to 40 minutes of rock climbing to reach the fifth highest point in Mexico, with a 360 degree view as a reward.
The difficulty
This hike is quite physical but the main difficulty lies in the altitude. Especially if you don't live at 2000m all year round (and still!). Once you are above 3000m, you will probably experience headaches and breathing difficulties.
Tip: Take your time, take breaks to let your body acclimatise little by little to the altitude.
Step 3
The comeback
It's not over yet, you have to go back down! It will take you about 1h30/2h to get back to the car park. And there are several options to get home. The best one is to go back with people. Many hikers go back to Puebla or elsewhere and can drop you off at an ideal place and then take a bus or another UBER. Second option is to get a bus from the end of the hike to Apizaco, then take another bus to Puebla or elsewhere. However, it seems to me that only one bus at the end of the day (around 5pm) runs this route. The last option is to keep the number of your Uber from the outward journey and try to call it back.
