Ocoxaltepec

Ocoxaltepec sits at 2,374 meters above sea level, among the highest villages of the municipality of Ocuituco in northern Morelos. The name comes from Nahuatl: ocotl (pitch pine), xalli (sand) and tepetl (hill), roughly "hill of the pine litter", which suits a setting of pine forest.

The 2020 census counted 1,531 residents, up from 1,338 in 2010 and 1,209 in 2005, in about 400 homes. The altitude sets the climate: according to the climate data on Pueblos de America, the average annual temperature is around 15 °C, January is the coldest month and April the warmest, and about 1,580 mm of rain falls each year, June being the wettest month. Lows of -1 °C have been recorded, so bring a sweater even outside winter.

Hills of 2,587 to 2,919 meters rise around the village, among them Tlaltemanoli, 1.3 km to the southeast, and Cuautlotilo, about 4 km east. The nearest neighbors in a straight line are Huecahuaxco, Jumiltepec, Huepalcalco and, to the west, Ecatzingo de Hidalgo, already across the line in the State of Mexico.

There are no hotels in the village; the closest are 4 to 9 km away, toward Ocuituco and Tetela del Volcan. This is a place of daily life rather than a tourist stop: it works as a pause if you are touring the villages of northern Ocuituco.