Climbing the North La Malinche Trail in Matlalcuéyatl National Park, México
Distance: 8.2 miles / 13.2 km
La Malinche, more commonly known as Malinche for short, in Matlalcuéyatl National Park, is one of many volcanic summits along an area of México known as the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt that spans the length of the country.
That said, La Malinche is most famously known for being one of the best summits to climb in order to acclimatize for Pico de Orizaba, the other being Iztaccíhuatl to the west of Puebla.
However, in my opinion, La Malinche is the better of the two climbs because of access issues associated with Iztaccíhuatl, which I discuss in more detail in my separate Pico de Orizaba article.
In any case, climbing La Malinche with my friend was done specifically for the purpose of getting ready for Pico de Orizaba, as the +14,000-ft. (4,267 m) summit was the perfect starter climb from the perspective of someone who lives at sea level.
Is a Guide Necessary to Climb La Malinche?
If you are familiar with climbing 14ers in the lower 48, I don’t believe there is a need to hire a guide for La Malinche.
The North Route is nothing more than a Class 2 climb, with only one short Class 3 section.
That being said, a guide can certainly be useful for the painfully slow drive on less-than-ideal roads just to get to the mountain, which, in my opinion, proved to be more challenging than the climb itself. In addition, guides can help with the language barrier, as there are stories of foreign climbers getting turned away at the trailhead for whatever reason, while guided clients were allowed to proceed.
I cannot speak in detail on this, but it’s a story we were told at the refuge on Pico de Orizaba.
On a different note, one of my favorite things about booking through Viator is the reserve-now-and-pay-later option. As long as you’re booking more than three days in advance, you have the option to book ahead and cancel in the future if you change your mind.
North La Malinche Trailhead Parking
Parking for the North La Malinche Trail is located just up the road from the Malintzi Resort, about an hour and twenty-five-minute drive from Puebla.
Google Maps Directions: North La Malinche Trailhead
Hiking Checklist - Matlalcuéyatl
Here is a complete list of must-have things that you will want for any hike in Matlalcuéyatl National Park.
Hiking the North La Malinche Trail
The North La Malinche Trail begins just up the road from the parking area shown above, which, in my experience, was free to enter, unlike Pico de Orizaba.
That said, I have heard from other climbers that La Malinche may close when there is bad weather, so be sure to check Mountain Forecast before making the long and tedious trip over from Puebla or México City.
I think it’s worth noting that my friend and I chose to hike Malinche from the north because, in our case, it wasn’t really about the miles.
We simply wanted the shortest route to the summit of Malinche in order to acclimatize for Pico de Orizaba.
At the first turn in the road, the North Route up Malinche splits away from the road, beginning the first of 12 - 14 different times—depending on how you count—that the North La Malinche Trail crosses the north access road.
Some hikers may prefer to walk the longer, more gradual road over the shorter, more direct North Malinche Trail.
However, we were most interested in trying to make Malinche as hard as possible in order to prepare for Pico de Orizaba.
The nice thing about climbing Malinche in January is the abundance of wildflowers throughout the lower elevations.
These signs below the tree line were incredibly helpful for estimating the remaining elevation when there are no views below the tree line.
This is one of a few different campsites along the north slopes of La Malinche.
However, I personally don’t think camping along the trail is worth the effort on Malinche because the climb from the north trailhead is more than practical in one long day.
Toward the top of the hike up the access road, the North Malinche Trail follows the road for roughly 0.2 miles (0.3 km), before it splits away and begins the steeper sections on the way up to the tree line.
This is where the North La Malinche Trail leaves the access road until the final crossing about 0.4 miles (0.6 km) up the trail.
This is the final time the trail crosses the road before the summit of Malinche.
Past the final road crossing, the North Malinche Trail will split a number of times, but all routes seemingly lead to the same place.
A general rule of thumb is that as long as you’re hiking up, you’re hiking in the right direction!
These areas below tree line proved to be some of the steeper and more challenging sections on the entire climb up Malinche.
That said, some hikers may prefer to carry trekking poles for the hike back down, which can be useful here and on a number of different areas higher on the mountain.
This is the first time La Malinche becomes visible through the Montezuma Pines!
This is the second and uppermost campsite that we hiked pass on the North La Malinche Trail.
Eventually, the pines will open up to the south, where La Malinche will become visible for the majority of the remaining climb.
This dog, which found us just before the tree line, ended up following us for the remainder of the hike to the summit!
It’s very unfortunate, but these memorials make it clear that even Malinche can be dangerous under the wrong conditions.
This is all to say: check Mountain Forecast! A 14er like Malinche isn’t nearly as dangerous as Iztaccíhuatl or Pico de Orizaba, but it can certainly have its moments.
North La Malinche Loop Trail
When the North Malinche Trail emerges from the trees, the trail splits into two different 0.5-mile (0.8 km) routes up Malinche.
The one on the left is known as the Standard Route, and the one on the right is known as the Alternative Route.
That being said, many find it easiest to hike up the Alternative Route and down the Standard Route because the soil is so soft and eroded on the Standard Route.
Alternate Route
Regarding my thoughts above, we chose to hike the 1.0-mile (1.6-km) loop from the Alternate Route first.
Coming right off the plane from sea level in Hawaiʻi, this steep climb up the Alternate Route on La Malinche was exactly what I needed to get ready for Pico de Orizaba!
That said, these lower slopes are roughly where the North Route up Malinche crosses the 13,000-ft. (3,962 m) mark.
At the top of the steep initial ascent, the alternative route continues climbing up a more gradual grade to the point where the two sides of the loop come together.
On these long, exposed high-elevation slopes, I highly recommend hiking in a hooded sun shirt to stay safe from the constant exposure!
I can confidently say that it’s not fun getting on the Jampa Glacier on Pico de Orizaba after already being in the sun for a long time on these summits prior.
This is where the views toward Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, along with views of Pico de Orizaba in the other direction, really begin to open up!
Once on the ridgeline, the North La Malinche Trail becomes much more straightforward for the rest of the climb to the summit.
This was not the dog that followed us up, but there certainly wasn’t a shortage of dogs on all sections of the climb up Malinche!
Upper North La Malinche Loop Junction
After 0.5 miles (0.8 km), both sides of the North Malinche Loop Trail come together as one trail for the rest of the hike to the summit.
This is where the North La Malinche Trail crosses above the 14,000-ft. (4,267 m) mark.
It wasn’t long after the 14,000-ft. (4,267 m) line that the snow started to stick, both in the shade and in the sun, on a mid-January climb.
For this reason, I highly recommend climbing La Malinche with micro-spikes, at the very least.
Perhaps there is one easiest route, but in my experience, hiking straight up this long, steep Class 2 slope is the most straightforward way to the top!
This is the view looking down the north slopes of La Malinche.
After reaching the top of this first long scramble, there are at least two more false summits to ascend before reaching the true Malinche Summit shortly ahead.
Wearing spikes on these hard-packed upper-elevation sections truly proved essential during my dry-season climb up Malinche.
This next visible summit is the top of La Malinche, but there is one more false summit to climb over before reaching the end.
This short but steep scramble may be the most difficult section of the entire climb, and it’s the only part of the entire climb up the North Route that could be considered Class 3.
Immediately past this first climb, the route turns to the right to ascend one more, much easier section than the one below.
This is the final down and up to reach the true La Malinche Summit.
La Malinche
According to the official sources, La Malinche stands at 14,639 ft. (4,462 m).
However, this number is widely criticized for being inaccurate, with the summit more commonly respected at 14,567 ft. (4,440 m).
To add to this, at least four different sources from our own measurements confirm that the summit stands below 14,600 ft. (4,450 m), in my estimation closer to 14,550 ft. (4,435 m), so I’m not really sure where that 'official' number comes from.
On this beautiful, clear day, we were able to spend over an hour on the summit enjoying the nice weather, as we were greeted with views of the surrounding summits on all sides, including Popocatépetl erupting off in the distance!
Upper North La Malinche Loop Junction
On the hike back down, we decided to go right at the split for the North La Malinche Loop to begin the Standard Route.
The east side of the loop is also 0.5 miles (0.8 km), like the west.
It’s because of these eroded soft soils that hikers typically say the west side is easier to ascend, while the east side is easier to descend.
Lower North La Malinche Loop Junction
Once back at tree line, the two sides of the loop come back together.
Overall, La Malinche, from any route, is without a doubt one of the best mountains to climb in preparation for Pico de Orizaba, which largely has to do with how it’s managed and its accessibility compared to Iztaccíhuatl.
That’s not to say that Iztaccíhuatl is a bad climb, but it certainly takes more planning, including either a 4WD or camping out at the La Joya Trailhead to make it practical, because it’s such a long, slow, and tedious ascent.
That being said, going straight from La Malinche to Pico de Orizaba is not a bad approach, so long as you are confident in your fitness. Even sleeping at the 14,000-ft. (4,267 m) refuge on Orizaba can do a lot of good in terms of acclimatizing for the summit, which is all of this is to say, don’t overthink it too much!
Both climbs are short, meaning both can be ascended very slowly in order to reach the summit of the highest volcano in North America!
*Coming Soon*
