Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl

The two great volcanoes over the Valley of Mexico are, the legend says, a pair of lovers. Iztaccíhuatl, the “sleeping woman,” whose snowy ridgeline really does look like a woman lying down, was a princess who died of grief on false news that her warrior Popocatépetl had fallen in battle; he returned, laid her body on the mountains, and stands over her forever holding a smoking torch, which is why “Popo” still steams and erupts to this day. One of the oldest love stories on the continent, written on two real, active, 17,000-foot volcanoes. Popo is dangerous and often closed; admire it from a safe distance.