10 Mountains near Puebla, Mexico: Map & Photos

10 mountains · within 60 km

There are 10 mountains within 60 km of Puebla in a straight line, an hour or a little more by road. The closest is Cerro de San Juan, 3 km away; the farthest, Papayo, is 60 km. They are listed under the Pueblos Mágicos of Ixtenco and Huejotzingo, which make good bases.

Start early: summits are usually clearest in the morning, and rainy-season afternoons bring clouds and storms. Nights get cold at altitude.

Best months, when most of these towns are dry with comfortable afternoons: Jan, Feb, Mar, Nov.

The Mountains 10

Cerro de San Juan · Mountain · 3 km from Puebla · Puebla
The hill of Puebla's La Paz district, west of downtown: Forey's camp in 1863 and Porfirio Díaz's in 1867, now topped by the Iglesia del Cielo.
Cuexcomate · Mountain · 5 km from Puebla · Puebla
The "world's smallest volcano", actually an extinct 13 m geyser cone on the square of La Libertad in Puebla city; a spiral staircase leads inside.
Tecajete · Mountain · 21 km from Puebla · Puebla
A 2,460 m cinder cone by San Miguel Papaxtla in the Puebla valley; a short, steep path climbs to its crater and two peaks.
Parque Nacional La Malinche · Mountain · 26 km from Puebla · Near Ixtenco
The dormant volcano that towers over eastern Tlaxcala, with pine forest, a mountain lodge and a full-day hike to the 4,400 m summit.
Cerro El Pinal · Mountain · 32 km from Puebla · Near Ixtenco
A 3,280 m forested peak just over the Puebla line, a moderate half-day hike through well-kept oak and fir forest.
Cuatlapanga · Mountain · 35 km from Puebla · Tlaxcala
A 2,917 m volcanic hill on the flanks of La Malinche, climbed in about an hour from Cuaxomulco on a trail with 14 chapels up to Cristo Rey.
Cerro Xalapasco · Mountain · 37 km from Puebla · Near Ixtenco
A low volcanic hill right outside Ixtenco, pitted with several maar craters; an easy hike with views of La Malinche and the plains.
Paso de Cortés · Mountain · 47 km from Puebla · Near Huejotzingo
The high pass between Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, at about 3,700 m, inside the Izta-Popo national park.
Pico Teyotl · Mountain · 50 km from Puebla · Puebla
A summit of about 4,600 m on the Iztaccíhuatl massif, "where stones are born", inside Izta-Popo national park, in San Salvador el Verde.
Papayo · Mountain · 60 km from Puebla · Estado de México
A lava dome of about 3,600 m, the youngest and southernmost peak of the Sierra de Río Frío, between Telapón and Iztaccíhuatl.