Nevado de Toluca (Bear Ridge)

This route to Nevado de Toluca (4,680 meters) is ideal when you want to make a more progressive acclimatization process, when you want to avoid the most technical areas of the volcano, or simply when the access to the second plume is cut off, which usually happens during weekends and holidays.

The route starts at about 3,700 meters. The trail is of moderate difficulty, and the elevation gain is approximately 1,000 meters. For several kil ometers we cross a beautiful coniferous forest, and come out onto a treeless terrain at the base of the Arista del Oso.

We ascend the ridge towards the summit, which from our position appears much sharper than it really is. Once on the edge of the crater, we enjoy an impressive view. The crater is more than two kilometers in diameter, and in its interior there are several lagoons, whose waters reflect the multicolored slopes of the Nevado.

We continue for thirty minutes more along the edge of the crater, for about eight hundred meters, and reach the summit, called Pico del Fraile, 4,680m.

The descent usually follows the same path as the ascent. The duration of this route can be between six and eight hours, depending on the physical condition of the participants. Don't miss this hike of the Nevado de Toluca!

Odd facts

The Nevado de Toluca is only 127 meters lower than the mythical Mont Blanc.