Cameron Highlands located in Malaysia and it is one of the biggest hill resort in the region. This place offers great views of tea and vegetable plantation, comfortable weather and sizzling food.
Fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, cauliflowers, cabbages, oranges and strawberries grow fresh and healthy in the cool climate and fertile soils of the highlands. You can buy them either at the various markets or the farms which are located throughout the highlands.
To get there:
1) By Air:
Book your air tickets at Airasia for budget price or Malaysia Airlines. The hill is located on the North of the airport. Once you reached the airport, take local taxi or coaches to Cameron Highlands.
2) Bus
Buses to Cameron Highlands operate daily from Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang. Buses from Kuala Lumpur depart from the Pudu Raya Station and KL Central. Buses from Penang depart from Prangin Mall / Komtar.
Express bus service from Singapore is now available. Unititi Express leaves Beach Road Singapore at 10.00pm daily and arrives in Cameron at 7am the following morning.
Bus schedules and details
Call the following bus companies for the latest bus schedules and fares.
i. Kurnia Bistari @ (KL) 016-3033330 (Counter 87 Puduraya) (CH) 05-491-1485
ii. Kinta Omnibus @ (IPOH) 05-254-0124 (CH) 05-491-1200
iii. Unititi Express @ (KL) 012-2150044 or 016-5058776 (CH) 05-491-4181 or 05-491-1452
3) Taxi
Taxis from Kuala Lumpur are available at the Pudu Raya Terminal. There are also daily taxi services from Tapah and Ipoh to Cameron Highlands. For services from other locations, please check with the local taxi terminal. Visitors coming from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) will be able to get a taxi from the KLIA limousine service (normal taxi) but the cost will be higher.
4) Self Drive:
For those familar with the roads in Malaysia, you can drive there using North-South Highway. Last time, you could only get to Cameron Highlands from the south via Tapah but since the opening of the new Simpang Pulai road, traveling to the highlands has become much more easier from the north. You can also get here from the east coast via Gua Musang in Kelantan but take note that this road has yet to be gazetted by the authorities.
From the South via Tapah
Cameron Highlands is about 300kms from Kuala Lumpur and it takes less than 3.5 hours to get here via the North-South Expressway (NSE). If you are driving from Kuala Lumpur, get find your way to the NSE by following the sign to Ipoh. Once you're on the expressway, keep on driving north until you reach Tapah which will take about 1.5 hours. Watch out for the sign that indicates the Tapah and Cameron Highlands exit (Exit 132). Once you have passed the toll booth, turn left at the traffic lights. From here onwards you will be on the long winding road to Cameron Highlands which is about 60 km's away. If you're driving from the north just take Exit 132 at Tapah and follow the same direction. It takes an average of 1.5 hours to reach Tanah Rata from Tapah.
Driving Tips :
The road from Tapah to Cameron Highlands is narrow and has a lot of sharp bends. If you have passengers who get motion sickness, its time to get those plastic bags out (just in case).
The roads have been upgraded recently so the drive up can be quite pleasant. There will be lots of heavy vehicles going up and down this road so be careful especially when you are overtaking. Most local heavy vehicles will give you the signal to overtake when its save so be patient. Its also common courtesy to let the vehicle behind you overtake you if you're driving slower that vehicle.
From the north via Simpang Pulai / Ipoh
Now that the new road from Simpang Pulai is open, more people are traveling to the highlands via this route. The road condition is much better here than the Tapah route and it only takes about 45 minutes to get to Kampung Raja from Simpang Pulai.
Take Exit 137 (Simpang Pulai) and turn right at the traffic light right after the toll booth. Turn right again at the next traffic light about 200 metres away. You are now on the way to Cameron Highlands. Eventually you will see signs to Kampung Raja or Cameron Highlands along the way. After about 1 hour, you will reach the Kampung Raja junction where you will have to turn right from the new road into Kampung Raja town. You're now in Cameron Highlands and you can just follow the main road to your destination. Brinchang & Tanah Rata is about 25-30kms from here.
Driving Tips :
Driving up this road is definitely a pleasant experience because it gives you some great views of mountains. Since the roads are less winding, people tend to speed here but watch out for the sharp bends at some stretches. There is NO mobile coverage along this road.
For more information on the NSE (North-South Expressway), please visit www.plus.com.my
Getting Around Cameron Highlands
It will be very convenient for you to get around Cameron Highlands if you have your own transportation. There are no car rental services in Cameron Highlands.
You can still get around with the local bus and taxi, but you will not have the flexibility you get from driving in your own car. Alternately you can also get on one of the many tours organized by the local tour companies in Cameron Highlands.
Some guest houses do provide motorbike rental services which you can use to get around. Bicycles are not here popular because of the terrain and the high traffic.
Local Taxi Rates
Distance between major towns in Cameron Highlands
i. Ringlet to Tanah Rata - 13km
ii. Tanah Rata to Brinchang - 6km
iii. Brinchang to Tringkep - 8km
iv. Tringkap - Kuala Terla - 5km
v. Kuala Terla - Kg.Raja - 3km
Accomodations:
I prefer to stay at Hotel Equatorial because of best deals available. I only paid for RM198++ (excluded %10 of service charge and 5% of government tax) with RM88 F&B voucher. The food & beverage credit can be utilised daily or accumulated for redemption at any food & beverage outlet. If you don't spend the voucher, it will be refunded at 50% (RM44) of its value in upon check out.
There are also many nice hotels and apartments for rent. Strawberry Park Resort is also recommended but its location a little remote from the main attraction places.
There are very high class resorts available too such as The Lakehouse, The Smokehouse.
For those traveling with more than 4 peoples, you might considering renting an apartment, like Star Regency.
Attractions
Here are all the places of interest:
Multicrops Central Market
Honey Bee – Ee Feng Gu
Sungai Palas Tea Plantation: except Monday 9:00-4:30
Boh Tea Ria Shop @ BohPlantation
Cameron Valley Tea House
Ee Feng Gu Honey Bee Farm
Butterfly farm
Butterfly Garden
Green Farm
Vegetable Market @ Kea Farm
Multicrops Central Market
Orchid Farm
Rose Centre
Rose Valley
Cactus Valley
Cactus Point
Healthy Strawberry Farm
Kasimanis Strawberry Farm
Kok Lim Strawberry Farm
Big Red Strawberry Farm
Raju Hill Strawberry Farm
My Suggested Itinerary for 3 days 2 nights trip:
Saturday
12:00pm : Lunch at T-Café or Yong Peng (Tanah Rata)
1:00pm : Go to strawberry farm, Tanah Rata – Kasimanis/KHM/Raju to strawberry
milkshare/ice-cream
3:00pm : Check in Hotel
3:30pm : Tea time or Cactus Point/Valley
4:30pm : Go to Rose Center (Kea Farm)
6:00pm : Steamboat Dinner at Highlands/OK Tuck/Golden Win Restaurant/Country
Lodge’s (Brinchang) – steamboat
8:30pm : Night market, Brinchang
Sunday
9:30am : Breakfast at hotel
11:00am : Go to Sg. Palas Tea Plantation, Brinchang
12:30pm : Lunch at Uncle Chow/ Palm Leaf Garden (Brinchang)
2:00pm : Go to Butterflies Farm, Kea Farm
3:00pm : Go to Vegetable Market/Farm
4:00pm : Tea time at Tanah Rata
7:00pm : Dinner at Mayflower/ Roselane steak house (Tanah Rata)
Monday
9:30am : Breaskfast at hotel
10:30am : Go to Multicrops Central Market
12:30pm : Lunch at Cameron Valley/ Restaurant No. 14 – southern Indian food?
2:00pm : Free & Easy / Sam Poh Temple - Brinchang
3:00pm : Tea Time @ T-Café?
4:00pm : Leave Cameron Highlands
5:30pm : Visit Lata Iskandar Waterfall
This is a morning view of the hill.This is the hotel where I've stayed in.
Maps of Cameron Highlands:
I can't understand why the peoples wanna abuse such a nice plant?
Yummy....what a delicious ice-cream, you only can find this at Cameron Highlands. Go to Raju's Strawberry for this lovely desert. Although the strawberries were not very sweet but it was fresh and juicy.
Rose Centre, located at Kea Farm just a little walk outside of Hotel Equatorial. The Entrance Fees: Adult - RM4.00 / Child - RM2.00. The place name is not really related because I can't find more than 10 roses there! There are many other plants instead of roses!
Can anyone tell me what is the name of this flower? Seriously I do not know the name of it. Hahaha...
Many tea plantations around at the hill, this is taken while going to the Boh's Tea Plantation.
This is the first time ever I'd to see this old machinery at the Sungai Palas Tea Plantation. According to the locals, it is used by the workers as a roller to process the raw tea back in the old days. Now, they would use a much bigger machinery to produce more teas.
The post gives an idea about the Cameron highlands. You can know all about it