Nevado de Toluca National Park, Flora and fauna protection area in State of Mexico, Mexico.

The Nevado de Toluca flora and fauna protection area covers 46,784 hectares in the State of Mexico, about 22 km southwest of Toluca. Its surface is formed almost entirely by the Xinantécatl volcano, which rises from dry grassland slopes to a jagged rocky crest with snow patches near the summit. The extinct volcano holds a large crater with two shallow lakes, and conifer and oak forests cover its lower flanks.

The area received national park status in 1936 under President Lázaro Cárdenas. In September 2013 it was then converted into a flora and fauna protection area, which changed its management rules.

The twin crater lakes bear the names El Sol and La Luna, echoing pre-Hispanic rituals performed here. Today hikers visit these spots and sometimes see remnants of ceramic vessels that have rested there for centuries.

Visitors reach the park via the Toluca-Sultepec road and then follow an approximately 18-kilometer unpaved track from the village of Raíces. The altitude requires acclimatization and weather can shift quickly, so bring warm clothing.

The crater lakes contain numerous offerings of copal and other items deposited during the pre-Hispanic period, making the lakes themselves an archaeological site. Since July 2008 cars, motorcycles and ATVs have been barred from the crater, so visitors walk two to six km from the parking area outside it.