Amecameca

Amecameca is a deeply historic and rustic mountain town at the very foot of the Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl volcanoes in the very southeast of Mexico State. The park itself, colloquially called Izta-Popo, straddles the border between here and Puebla, and touches a bit of Morelos to the very south. The park and the volcanoes are today the towering backdrop to the town, and the park provides the incentive for nearly everyone who visits the town. It's a fantastic other-worldly landscape and one you will never forget.

The town is located very near the Paso de Cortés. According to legend, Cortés crossed the mountains here on his way to the Valley of Mexico and his eventual conquest of ancient Tenochtitlan. It's thus a place loaded with historical gravity and vibes. Natural history is documented in the local museum although it is complemented by several others including one dedicated to childhood-resident, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (1648 or 51-1695). Another is dedicated just to the subject of volcanoes. 

The town is also home to the a Dominican monastery founded in 1554. The temple with pink stone entrance in the Mannerist style dates from that time. The Sacromonte Sanctuary was built on top of an older pyramid dedicated to Tezcatlipoca, an ancient deity of Toltec origin.

For those not in town for mountaineering, both the Bosque Esmeralda Ecotourism Park and the Hacienda Panoaya offer a variety of more placid activities. The town is home to a crazily popular Christmas Tree Forest where generations of people from all over the region have harvested their own festive trees. If you're lucky enough to be here in December, the cutting of trees is accompanied by all manner of related festivities and activities. Each August there is also a traditional Walnut Fair accompanied by music and entertainment as well as handmade sweets, pastries, ice cream, and liqueurs all made from walnuts.

But most people will still come for at least a first foray into the national park. From Mexico City, the appropriately named Volacanes bus line runs buses every 20 minutes from the Tapo station on the east side of the city. The trip takes just a little more than one hour and it is always unforgettable.