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Colima volcano aero colors adjusted

Mountain·MexicoMexico

Colima

3,850m

Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt

Summit weather

photo: en:User:Nc_tech3 edit: User:MattiPaavola · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Elevation
3,850m
Prominence
600m
Relief
1,992mabove the lowest point within 5 km
Steepest slope
44°within 1 km of the summit
Snow at the summit
NoneSee month by month ↓
Summit
19.5125°N, 103.6175°W

Mountain

Colima is a mountain in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Mexico). Its summit stands 3,850 m above sea level. Its prominence — how far it rises above the highest saddle linking it to a taller summit — is 600 m.

From the lowest point within 5 km (1,858 m), it rises 1,992 m. The steepest side is the west face: 35° on average over the first kilometre. In places the ground near the top reaches 44° — terrain for climbers, not walkers.

The nearest town is Cofradía, 11 km away at 1,394 m: 2,456 m below the summit.

Read more on Wikipedia

Scores

Colima for skiers and climbers

Two scores out of 10, built only from open data — every part is shown. They describe what the mountain offers, not how safe it is.

Hiking & mountaineering

4.7/10

Difficulty to the top

Alpine climb

Estimated from the slope: OpenStreetMap has no graded paths near the top.

Indicative only — never a safety assessment. Conditions change: ask local guides and check the forecast.

  • 0.0/2.50 waymarked routes and 0 path sections nearby
  • 0.0/1.50 huts and shelters
  • 2.0/22,456 m of ascent from the valley
  • 1.2/1.5600 m of prominence
  • 1.5/1.512 months with summit afternoons above −5 °C
  • 0.0/1via ferratas, climbing and glaciers

Ski score

—

No ski runs within 12 km in OpenStreetMap.

How these scores are made

Ski (where OpenStreetMap has skiing within 12 km): up to 4 points for the length of downhill runs (300 km or more = 4), 1.5 for the number of lifts (40+), 1.5 for the vertical between lift stations (1,500 m) and 3 for the snow season — a month counts when the estimated mean temperature at the height of the ski area is −1 °C or lower and snow falls or lies there (NASA POWER, 2001–2020). Hiking & mountaineering: up to 2.5 for waymarked routes and paths, 1.5 for huts, 2 for the ascent from the valley (2,000 m), 1.5 for prominence (3,000 m), 1.5 for the season (months with summit afternoons above −5 °C) and 1 for via ferratas, climbing and glaciers. OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: where few things are mapped, a score can be lower than reality.

Plan your visit

Stay, climb and get there

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

Snow

When there is snow on Colima

In a normal year there is no snow on this mountain, not even at the summit.

Estimate for a normal year: average temperature and precipitation from NASA POWER, carried to each height, in a simple model of snow building up and melting. In a given year snow can come earlier or stay longer. It does not replace the local snow and avalanche bulletin.

Summit weather

Colima, month by month

Not a forecast: long-term averages (1991–2020), carried up to the summit. The orange line is where an average afternoon reaches 0 °C; above the dashed blue line it freezes even at dawn.

On an average May afternoon the summit reaches about 19 °C; on January nights it falls to about -2 °C. Afternoons at the top are above freezing in every month of the average year. In May the 0 °C line climbs to about 7,680 m, above the summit: the top thaws on an average afternoon. Across the region, April is the driest month (1 mm) and September the wettest (213 mm).

2,000 m4,000 m6,000 m8,000 mSUMMIT · 3,850 mCOFRADÍA · 1,394 mJanuary: 6,160 mFebruary: 6,480 mMarch: 6,920 mApril: 7,440 mMay: 7,680 mJune: 7,020 mJuly: 6,560 mAugust: 6,480 mSeptember: 6,400 mOctober: 6,480 mNovember: 6,420 mDecember: 6,200 mJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 °C on an average afternoon 0 °C at dawn the summit
MonthSummit high °CSummit low °CCofradía high °C0 °C line (m)Rain & snow (mm)Wet daysSun h/day
January12-2246,1601228.6
February13-1256,4802019.6
March150286,92010110.9
April182307,4401011.5
May193317,68017310.5
June164287,020130197.6
July144266,560196266.7
August134256,480198266.7
September134256,400213256.2
October133256,48099127.6
November131256,4202738.7
December12-1246,200718.7

Estimate: the NASA POWER climate of a ~55 km cell (average height 1,179 m), adjusted to the summit by −6.5 °C per 1,000 m. Rain, wet days and sunshine are those of the region. Mountain weather changes fast — always check a local forecast. ★ = mildest months at the top.

Relief

The mountain in profile

Two cuts through the summit, 16 km long, from the 30 m Copernicus elevation model. True scale: no vertical exaggeration.

West – east
3,850 m1,629 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmWE
South – north
3,850 m1,754 m0 km2 km4 km6 km8 km10 km12 km14 km16 kmSN
Steepness by direction
30°N: 28°NNE: 25°NEE: 30°ESE: 28°SES: 34°SSW: 34°SWW: 35°WNW: 32°NW

Average slope of the first kilometre from the summit. The orange petal is the steepest side.

Around the mountain

Huts, lifts and trails around Colima

Counted around the summit in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. The satellite plate shows 14 × 14 km.

Colima seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 5 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 14 × 14 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

  • —mountain huts and shelters
  • —cable cars, gondolas, chairlifts and rack railways
  • —ski areas
  • —waymarked hiking routes
  • —via ferratas
  • —climbing crags and routes
  • —named glaciers
  • 4viewpoints

    Mirador Volcán de Fuego, Puerto Colimotes, El Playón, Mirador Nevado de Colima "La Joya"

  • —campsites
  • 2hotels, B&Bs and chalets

    La Ocotera Hotel de Montaña

  • 3restaurants and cafés

Towns at the foot

  • Cofradía11 km · 1,394 m
  • Tonila14 km · 1,161 m
  • San Marcos14 km · 1,144 m
  • Cofradía de Suchitlán14 km · 1,304 m
  • Quesería15 km · 1,226 m
  • Alcaraces17 km · 1,158 m
  • Suchitlán18 km · 1,068 m
  • El Jazmín18 km · 1,677 m

OpenStreetMap is built by volunteers: a low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. Places © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Photos

Seen by climbers and visitors

Volcan al atardecer - panoramio
antonio_vazquez4 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Volcan de Colima 2
Jrobertiko · CC BY-SA 3.0

Recent years

How each month compared at the summit

Afternoon high at the summit (estimate). The first row is the reference, the 1991–2020 average in °C; the years show only the difference.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1991–2020 average121315181916141313131312
2020+0.1−0.1+0.6+0.6+0.9+1.7+0.6±0.0+0.6+0.8+1.7−0.1
2021+0.9+0.4+1.9+1.2−0.2−1.2±0.0−0.1±0.0±0.0+0.6+1.4
2022+1.0+0.9+0.8+1.4+1.5−1.3+0.3−0.2+0.6+0.2+1.3+0.6
2023+1.1+1.3+1.0+0.6+0.4+4.2+2.1+1.4+2.0−0.3+1.4±0.0
2024+0.4+1.2+1.4+1.5+2.9+2.4+1.2±0.0+0.4+1.6+1.6+1.8
2025+1.2+2.6+2.6+1.2+1.0−1.3+0.2+0.4+0.6+0.4+1.2+1.5

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

About these numbers

Names, elevation, prominenceWikidata (Q825347) · CC0
Relief, 3D view, profilesCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020 · CC BY 4.0
Around the mountain© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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