The Cameron Highlands is a welcome respite as a weekend break for the average Kuala Lumpurian. Named after William Cameron, the British Surveyor who "discovered" and mapped the plateau, it has a cooler and milder climate; it serves the same purpose now as it did for the British during the colonial times as a hill station to escape from the tropical heat.
Unfortunately heavy and uncontrolled development has resulted in a lot of the natural forests being chopped down to make way for farms and ugly high-rise buildings. This has also resulted in a rise in temperature, so the highlands are no longer as cool as it was before.
Having said that, if you look beyond the grey and dreary towns that line the highlands road, there are still pleasures to be had in the Cameron Highlands. For the typical tourist travelling Malaysia, the highlands make a pleasant interlude to escape from the tropical heat in between other destinations. And the highlands are possibly one of two remaining places in Malaysia where you can experience a little of what remains of the old world colonial charm of British Malaya.
1) Visit the Tea Plantations
John Archibald Russell started the first tea plantations in 1929, now known as the world-famous Boh Plantations. The plantations are still going strong and currently run by his descendents. Boh has three tea estates in the highlands, at Boh and Fairlie near Habu and at Sungai Palas, above Brinchang.
Visitors Centres are available at Sungai Palas and at Boh. Even the journey to the visitors centres are an adventure, narrow winding roads through mountains and spectacular scenery of the tea plantations. At the centre, there are factory tours and you can drink a cuppa amidst the spectacular views. A must-do in the Highlands.
Besides Boh, Cameron Bharat also has tea plantations with a visitor centre alongside the main road, one between Habu and Tanah Rata at the Shalimar Tea Plantation.
2) Experience Old-World Charm
To get a taste of old British Malaya, there's no better way than to have afternoon tea at an old Tudor style house. Scones, strawberry jam cream and tea, in charming gardens or in a musty old tea room. Three of the best places for this are:
a) The Smokehouse Hotel and Restaurant, in an old Tudor style house built in 1939 located off the Tanah Rata golf course.
b) The Lakehouse, built by a British ex-army officer in 1966 near Habu.
c) Bala's Holiday Chalets, formerly in what was a boarding school for expatriate children opened in 1934.
3) Jungle Trekking
If you are fit and game, there are plenty of nature trails and hikes that you can do. All levels of difficulty, from beginner to extremely hard trails. Easiest trails are to the Parit "falls" or the Robinson falls. Harder are the trails to the tops of the surrounding mountains.
Should the rafflesia, the world's largest flower be in bloom, it is worth the while to go in search of it. Most of the tour agents in Tanah Rata will be able to offer this tour package. Take a 4-WD drive vehicle to Lojing, on the Kelantan side of the border. a 1.5 hour trek in the jungle passing wild ginger flowers, jungle streams and waterfalls until you come across the rafflesia, a foul smelling flower that smells of rotting flesh to attract flies. It only blooms for a few days, so you would be extremely lucky to see one in bloom.
Next go for a dip in the jungle pools, and stop-over at an aboriginal village of the "Orang Asli". Watch a demonstration of the orang asli using the "blowpipe", then try it out yourself.
4) Gunung Brinchang and the Mossy Forest
If you do the arduous trek up Brinchang mountain in (3) above, you will emerge at the top of Gunung Brinchang, the highest mountain in peninsular malaysia accessible by road. There is a watch tower at its peak, if you clamber to the top, you will see amazing mountain scenery all around you. On a clear day, you may even see the city of Ipoh in the distance. But go early in the morning, later in the day, your view will be obstructed by clouds all around you.
If you have a car, drive all the way to the peak early in the morning to catch the sunrise. Careful though, the roads are narrow, and in poor condition, an experience itself to drive with views to the tea plantations early on, then of virgin jungle higher up.
Nearly to the top, a small trail leads of to the Mossy Forest, the montane trees here are covered in moss and look very different to the jungle located at lower climes. For those who love nature.
5) Steamboat for Dinner
At night time, as the temperature cools, head for one of the numerous chinese restaurants to warm up with a meal of "steamboat".
Steamboat is known as the hotpot or chinese fondue. The food is cooked at the dining table. The cooking pot is fuelled by coal or more commonly propane and filled with chicken broth or other forms of soup. The ingredients are loaded individually into the pot by the diners and cooked briefly, before being dipped into sauces with chopsticks before being eaten.
Typically steamboat ingredients include thinly sliced meats, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, tofu, noodles or seafood.
6) Strawberry Plucking
Probably if you are from western climes, this would have no interest for you. But for domestic or asian tourists, nothing beats going to a farm, plucking the strawberries yourself and packing it back to the hotel to eat.
Expensive but a fun thing for the family to do.
7) Playing Golf
If you have the inclination, try playing a round of golf at the public golf course in Tanah Rata. Bring your own clubs if you are resident in Malaysia, but if not clubs could probably be rented at the golf course. Call them at (605) 491 1126 to find out the rates.
8) Night market at Brinchang
On Saturday nights, there is a night market in Brinchang town itself. Mostly selling local produce, snacks and household stuff and knick-knacks, still worth a look at just for the experience and if you have nothing else to do on a saturday night!
9) Spa at the Cameron Highlands Resort
If you have too much money to spare or have time to spend, head over to the Spa Village in the 5-star Cameron Highlands Resort to pamper yourself with a massage, a scrub or other spa treatment. Indulgent, expensive but why not if you can afford it?
The above are just a selection of things you could do in Cameron's. There are of course other more touristy things to do, such as the Rose Garden, Butterfly farm, Cactus Valley or the vegetable markets at Kea Farm. But generally most foreign tourists would find nothing special about these attractions and it would be fair to say that these may be more of interest to the domestic tourist.
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