La Malinche National Park, National park across Tlaxcala and Puebla states, Mexico.
La Malinche National Park is a 45,711-hectare protected area in Tlaxcala and Puebla, centred on the La Malinche–Matlalcueitl volcano, which rises to 4,462 metres. Its slopes are cut by deep barrancas radiating from a jagged summit, and above 4,000 metres the ground is bare volcanic ash and lapilli. Coniferous forest covers most of the park, with six pine species and over 120 plant species recorded.
La Malinche was declared a national park on 6 October 1938, protecting 45,711 hectares across Tlaxcala and Puebla. The volcano, also called Matlalcueitl, lies in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and reaches 4,462 metres. Its lower slopes have long been used for cultivation, while the summit area remains bare volcanic ash and rock.
The volcano is also called Matlalcueitl, a name recorded in the sources alongside La Malinche; the park's official Mexican designation is La Montaña Malinche o Matlalcuéyatl. The mountain's profile, a cone slightly elongated at its base, is compared in the sources to a stooped woman, with the pine forest on the lower slopes resembling a skirt.
Visitors can stay in cabins or camping areas at Centro Vacacional IMSS La Malintzi, which also offers recreational facilities for exploring the park. This infrastructure makes it possible to spend multiple days in nature and access different parts of the protected area.
From the summit, visitors can observe three major Mexican volcanoes: Pico de Orizaba, Iztaccíhuatl, and Popocatépetl. On clear days these distant peaks become visible, offering a rare view of the region's volcanic geography.
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