Mountain·Mexico

Citlaltepetl

5,636m

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt

3D view drawn from Copernicus WorldDEM-30 (© DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA) and Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX IT Services GmbH, CC BY 4.0

Elevation: 5,636m
Prominence: 4,922m
Isolation: 2,690km
Relief: 2,268mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope: 50°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit: All yearSee month by month ↓
Summit: 19.0303°N, 97.2703°W

Highest mountain and volcano in Mexico

Citlaltepetl is a mountain in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Mexico). Its summit stands 5,636 m above sea level. It is the highest point of MX. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 4,922 m, and the nearest higher ground is 2,690 km away.

From the lowest point within 5 km (3,368 m), it rises 2,268 m. The steepest side is the west face: 35° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 50° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Santa Cruz Texmalaquilla, 10 km away at 3,119 m: 2,517 m below the summit.

Citlaltepetl for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

6.8/10

Difficulty to the top

Mountain walk

Most path sections around the top are T3 on the SAC hiking scale. Glaciers around the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

0.8/2.51 waymarked routes and 9 path sections nearby
0.8/1.53 huts and shelters
2.0/22,517 m of ascent from the valley
1.5/1.54,922 m of prominence
1.5/1.512 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
0.3/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

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Snow

When there is snow on Citlaltepetl

At the summit, snow all year round. Month by month below, at different heights on the way up.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Summit5,636 msnow all year round	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month	Snow on the ground all month
Halfway up4,378 moccasional snow from July to March	Snow some of the time	Snow some of the time	Snow some of the time	No snow	No snow	No snow	Snow some of the time	Snow some of the time	Snow some of the time	Snow some of the time	Snow some of the time	Snow some of the time
Santa Cruz Texmalaquilla3,119 mno snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow	No snow

Snow on the ground all month
Snow some of the time
No snow
This month

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Citlaltepetl, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average April afternoon the summit reaches about 3 °C; on January nights it falls to about -17 °C. In 8 months of the year it stays below freezing at the top even in the afternoon. In April the 0 °C line climbs to about 6,070 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, February is the driest month (14 mm) and September the wettest (187 mm).

0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit

Month	Summit high °C	Summit low °C	Santa Cruz Texmalaquilla high °C	0 °C line (m)	Rain & snow (mm)	Wet days	Sun h/day
January	-4	-17	12	4,970	16	5	7.2
February	-2	-16	14	5,340	14	4	7.7
March	0	-15	17	5,700	22	6	8.0
April	3	-12	19	6,070	36	10	7.7
May	3	-11	19	6,040	75	18	7.3
June	0	-11	17	5,680	166	25	6.6
July	-1	-12	16	5,540	154	27	6.6
August	-1	-12	16	5,510	171	28	6.5
September	-2	-11	15	5,410	187	26	5.3
October	-2	-13	14	5,340	92	19	6.5
November	-3	-16	13	5,140	32	10	7.2
December	-4	-17	13	5,070	14	4	7.6

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 2,405 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east

South – north

Steepness by direction

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Citlaltepetl

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Citlaltepetl seen from above (Sentinel-2)

N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

3mountain huts and shelters
Refugio Piedra Grande (4,240 m), Refugio Fausto González Gomar
—cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
—ski areas
1waymarked hiking routes
Cara Sur
—via ferratas
—climbing crags and routes
2named glaciers
Lengüeta, Jamapa
5viewpoints
4campsites
Campamento Base
6hotels, B&Bs and chalets
Villas Puerta Del Cielo, Centro Ecoturístico Citlaltepetl, Villas Pico de Orizaba, Villas pico Orizaba and 2 more
—restaurants and cafés

How hard are the paths?

9 path sections within 5 km, by SAC hiking scale (T1 easy walk … T6 difficult alpine).

T2T3

T2 mountain hiking
T3 demanding mountain hiking

Towns at the foot

Santa Cruz Texmalaquilla10 km · 3,119 m
Cuiyachapa10 km · 2,600 m
Texmola10 km · 2,850 m
San Miguel Zoapan11 km · 3,003 m
Paso Carretas12 km · 2,738 m
Loma Grande13 km · 2,666 m
Tenixtepec13 km · 2,253 m
San Martín Ojo de Agua13 km · 2,845 m

Car hire at VER airport (Veracruz)Discover Cars · Affiliate link

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Pico de Orizaba desde Hidalgo, Puebla — México en Fotos · CC BY-SA 2.0

Nieve en faldas del Pico de Orizaba 01 — Isaacvp · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nieve en faldas del Pico de Orizaba 06 — Isaacvp · CC BY-SA 4.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1991–2020 average	-4	-2	0	3	3	0	-1	-1	-2	-2	-3	-4
2020	+0.7	+0.9	+2.2	+1.9	+0.9	+1.4	+1.2	+0.5	±0.0	+1.0	+1.2	+0.7
2021	+1.0	+1.6	+1.8	+1.3	−0.4	−0.9	+0.2	+0.2	+0.4	+1.2	±0.0	+1.8
2022	+0.9	−0.9	+1.3	+0.9	+2.1	+0.2	+1.1	+0.3	±0.0	+1.5	+2.2	+0.1
2023	+2.5	+1.7	+2.5	+1.0	+1.1	+4.4	+1.4	+1.6	+2.9	+1.7	+1.7	−0.3
2024	+2.9	+3.0	+4.6	+2.6	+5.8	+3.1	+0.9	+1.3	+1.5	−0.3	+2.7	±0.0
2025	+1.3	+1.2	+2.7	+0.5	+1.5	−1.3	+0.7	+0.8	+1.0	+0.8	+1.4	+0.2

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Nearby

More mountains nearby

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About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominence	Wikidata (Q238147) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profiles	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Climate	NASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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