La Joya | Established Campground

Great spot, super quiet for us on Wed-Thu (two cars on parking lot), got more busy on Friday.

When we initially asked at the Visitor Center if we can drive up to La Joya the guy was saying us we can’t - we need reservation 5 days in advance. But then we told him we will camp there and we have a small van and he was okay. Motorcycles and big trucks are not allowed to go to La Joya.

Entrance is 58mex per person per day (so if you are staying for one night you are paying for two days).

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Entrance fees : 232 pesos for 2 people and 1 night. Perfect spot in front of the volcano. We recommand soooo much !!

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Camped two nights. Cold. A tiny bit of snow. Beautiful. Very enjoyable. Went for walks during the day. Wasn’t there to climb the mountain.

The road from the Paso de Cortes to La Joya is rough, but all kinds of vehicles drive it. Just take it easy.

Thursday and Friday were very quiet, only a handful of cars, and toilet was locked. I guess you are expected to fend for yourself.

On Saturday the parking lot was full. A gear vendor and a taco vendor were set up. The bathroom was unlocked with someone manning it.

Coming from the east (Cholula), don’t turn in at the arch (Apatlaco)…keep going to the visitor center at the Paso de Cortes. And yes there are some super rough sections on the east side of the pass. But all kinds of vehicles were driving it.

The road on the west side of the pass is paved and in beautiful condition.

Entry fee for two days for one person $116mx. Pay at the Paso de Cortes visitor center.

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It was the weekend and the paved road to the pass was narrow and full of bikes, no fun. In the visitor center we could pay the entrance fee ( 58mxp p.p. )for the park to be allowed to drive up here. The road is 2wd high clearance. The night was freezing cold and we were alone. I cannot recommend the gravel road from the pass to the east. 16km 1h+ high clearance and to get up you need 4x4.

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Parking lot with a beautiful view. Highest point you can get to. From here you can start your climb to Izta. Toilets were closed off when we were there, so you can go in nature (but please dig a hole and don’t leave toilet paper)!

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The place is filthy. The shed is dirt as a cowshed. Toilets overfull and not maintained anymore. Access road washed. No trash bin. I really wonder what the entry fee is used for. I went to the other spot 1 km before. It is cleaner and quiter

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We drove from Puebla to La Joya with our 2wd car with high clearance. The road is still unpaved and in bad shape but doable in any car. We hiked from La Joya to the first three viewpoints. It's an amazing hike with beautiful views of the two volcanoes. The hike to the three viewpoints took us 4,5 hours. You definitely feel the height and have to go slowly. It's an amazing day trip from Puebla or México City if you don't like to spend a really cold night in this height.

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you enter the barrier after paying the park fee then drive to La Joya. at the barrier NO DOGS are allowed past that point.

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Price has increased to 53 per person per day. This place is great to camp if you are starting your hike in the morning / night. Else I would prefer one of the few campspots on the road between the entrance gate and La Joya for more privacy.

Amazing hike but very strenuous and keep in mind that the descent is the worst because its so steep and the volcanic ash gives no grip, its very slippery. We fell on our butt a lot of times. So keep enough energy for that.

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Great place to camp before climbing izta. We started at 6:30 and reached the first peak (the rodillas, 5020m) at 11:15, then had to turn back due to altitude sickness. We chose not to go with a guide. We don't necessarily regret this, but found the trail to be difficult to follow between the refugio and the rodillas, which is also where things get REALLY steep and finding the right route matters. Some rocks are painted with yellow or red spots and some rock stacks can be found but it's very easy to loose them again. If you do get sick of the Altitude at this point turn back as it will be very hard to descend this part if you're really not feeling well. Take your time for the rest of the descent as well as the ground is very slippery between the first pass and the refugio. We made it back down at 16:00. If you're prepared for an ordeal, then this climb is amazing! Remember that this is Mexico and nobody at the start is going to warn you about the dangers! :-)

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bumpy ride. but ok with 2wd.
slept here before climbing izta. got up at 3 am and reached the end 7 hours later. amazing views! no good view from te parking lot but if you climb 1 hour you will have amazing views of popo!!!!! want more info about the climb: contact @sofie_travels ;)

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not pet friendly any more just a heads up. We just stopped by, very foggy. but nice little drive.

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We stayed 3nights here;Sa- Tu; at the Weekend it was very crowded at the Parking lot; the road is bumpy but doable with a pickup campe; the hikes were fantastic; we paid 36Pesos/Person/day

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Nice parking lot at a height of 3950m! You have nice views of the mountain and if you walk a bit you have nice views of the valley and southern parts of Mexico City, too. About one km+- before the parking lot is a fork to the left. There is a sign showing camping opportunities at the fork, too. If you take the road to the left there is a nice spot. We nearly didn’t get up again with our RWD pickup with a camper on the bed.

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We slept here the night before the hike. The one pit toilet wasn't very clean. The Refugio on the mountain sleeps 24 people and fills up on the weekend. There were lots of people tenting too. It was freezing and raining at night so come prepared! Even the hike to the second saddle would be worth it. The views of Popo and Izta were unbelievable...

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We slept here before to make the ascent of the Iztaccihuatl. The place is quite windy, you have toilets and a place to buy some food.
We wake up at 3 am to start the ascent. We arrived to the top in 6 hours. It was just magic. It is really hard to find information about the ascent so feel free to contact us on Esprits Outdoor.

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as described. the pit toilets are rather bad but the campsite is perfect. the road up is definetly doable with any car if dry. saw a lot of sedans and smaller cars up there. not so sure if it rains or there is snow.
do not foeget la joya is at 3900m altitude. so it does get cold.
go hiking! there is basically one path that heads up and gives you an amazing view of popocatepetl. worth the pain and sweat. i'll post the image of the hiking map as a picture.

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Easy to find, drove up from Puebla to Paso Cortes, from there you can get a ticket for passing to La Joya, costs around 40mxn. the campong is in a parking lot, a lot of climbers camp there as they prepare to conquer itza. nice camping spot.

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We spent the first night above the main parking lot. Several hikers passed by throughout the day. The second night we went to a spot before the main parking lot. The one before had no people around. Find it down dirt road just before La Joya. Probably need clearance, but not 4x4. We made it to both locations in truck camper with good clearance. Paid 32p per person entry fee at main building. Note- we have dogs with us and no one said anything. We saw dogs on the trail. But signs say No Mascotas- be aware.

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Definitely come on a weeknight. The place gets mobbed with folks from Mexico City on weekends. When we arrived on Friday night there were 5 cars in the lot and we saw maybe 10 people climbing. When we got down the next day in the afternoon there were 60 cars in the lot, 20 tents, etc. plus the mountain gets mobbed on weekends so if you don't want Mexico City daytrippers kicking rocks on you as you ascend, stick to the weekdays.

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We slept in our 4Runner at the trailhead. There were a few people tent camping and one camper truck at La Joyita, the parking area just below La Joya. La Joyita has a pit toilet, La Joya does not. Dirt road to both sites but OK for 2WD. We chose to stay at La Joya because the view was nicer. We had the area to ourselves. There are no trees at either site so bring wood if you want to have a fire (allowed). Park entry fee was 32 pesos/person/day with no additional fee for camping. The hike up the Popo volcano is great, with spectacular views of the Izta volcano (active).

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Parking lot trailhead to Iztaccihuatl. Pit toilets, no showers, very quiet and cold at night. Gorgeous views if Popocatepeltl and Iztaccihualtl. Have to paid to 30 pesos per person to spend the night.

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Parking lot at the trail head to Izta. Amazing views. Dirt road but manageable for 2 wheel drive. No services. Pit toilets. No security but there's a gate to the National park that closes at 6pm.

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