Hueyapan sits high on the southern flank of Popocatépetl, in the far northeast of Morelos, where pine forest and orchards climb toward the volcano and the air is noticeably thinner than in the valleys below. In the sixteenth century, Dominican friars built a convent here dedicated to Santo Domingo, with a simple church, a cloister and a walled atrium where the indigenous population gathered for worship. It is one of the fourteen sites in the UNESCO listing of the Earliest Sixteenth-Century Monasteries on the Slopes of Popocatépetl, and while it is more modest than some of its neighbours, its setting is one of the most dramatic.
The town is known for its Nahua heritage and its weaving. Women here still use backstrap looms to make woollen textiles, including shawls, ponchos and skirts dyed with natural colours, and you may find them for sale in the market or in workshops. The slopes around Hueyapan are planted with avocado, peach and plum orchards, and the views of the volcano on clear mornings, with its plume of steam, are unforgettable.
The roads up to Hueyapan are steep and winding, with sharp curves and frequent speed bumps, and they climb from the warm valleys of Morelos into the cool highlands. The surface is generally paved but can be rough, and in the rainy season from June to September, afternoon storms can make it slippery. Popocatépetl is an active volcano, and the authorities set an alert level, sometimes restricting access to the higher slopes, so check before you go. Nearby Tetela del Volcán has another of the monasteries, and the road between the two is short but rewarding.
Hueyapan, with about six and a half thousand people, has small shops and food stalls, and may have fuel at the edge of town, but for reliable services head down to Cuautla or Yecapixtla. Bring warm clothing; even in the dry season, mornings can be cold at this altitude. Try tlacoyos, thick corn cakes with beans, or a bowl of pozole, and look for fruit from the orchards, sold by the roadside in season.