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- El Pecho summit (5,230 m): The highest point of the Sleeping Woman and the reason most people come. The final stretch is a steep ridge scramble over broken rock, and the top rewards you with a 360-degree view of both valleys and, on clear days, distant snow peaks.
- Las Rodillas (the Knees): The first major ridge section, where the trail turns from a walking path into hands-on scrambling over lava rock. It is the most dramatic early landmark and a satisfying turnaround point if the summit is too much.
- Popocatépetl viewpoint at Paso de Cortés: The saddle between the two volcanoes is named for Hernán Cortés, who crossed it in 1519 on his way to Tenochtitlan. From here you watch Popocatépetl exhale ash plumes against the sky, and the mountain’s low rumble carries over the pass.
- La Joya and the high-altitude
- El Pecho summit (5,230 m): The highest point of the Sleeping Woman and the reason most people come. The final stretch is a steep ridge scramble over broken rock, and the top rewards you with a 360-degree view of both valleys and, on clear days, distant snow peaks.
- Las Rodillas (the Knees): The first major ridge section, where the trail turns from a walking path into hands-on scrambling over lava rock. It is the most dramatic early landmark and a satisfying turnaround point if the summit is too much.
- Popocatépetl viewpoint at Paso de Cortés: The saddle between the two volcanoes is named for Hernán Cortés, who crossed it in 1519 on his way to Tenochtitlan. From here you watch Popocatépetl exhale ash plumes against the sky, and the mountain’s low rumble carries over the pass.
- La Joya and the high-altitude grasslands: The start of the climb crosses open zacatón bunchgrass, the habitat of the endangered volcano rabbit. The golden grass bending in the wind makes a good first-hour landscape before the ground turns to rock.
- Izta-Popo Zoquiapan National Park forest: The lower slopes carry pine and fir woodland that smells of resin on warm mornings. It is an easy, shaded warm-up for acclimatizing, and the mist moving through the trees is a pleasant contrast to the barren scree higher up.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past 3 decades, I’ve backpacked through 90+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.