Wondering what you can do during your time in Cameron Highlands ? Here is a list of activities for you to do in the Malaysian tea plantations. This town is the perfect gateway for a weekend and lots of locals are actually escaping the heat of Kuala Lumpur to find the fresh air of Cameron Highlands. So as we say « when in Rome do as the Romans do. »
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Useful informations
- The town is located at 1500m above sea level. Therefore the temperatures stay chill during the night. Take a jacket with you.
- Because the weekend is very crowded I recommend you to stay there between Tuesday and Friday. Additionally on Mondays several activities are closed.
- The official currency is the ringgit and the plug are the same as in England.
What to do in Cameron Highlands
Visit the tea plantations
Only two tea plantations remain in Cameron highlands. In fact the town used to have more than 20 plantations but they disappeared slowly. You can visit both of the plantations.
- BOH tea plantation : This is the most famous one in Malaysia ! They have a beautiful Café giving you a marvelous view above the plantations. You can enter for free but obviously you need to pay your drink inside the Café. You can also get paid tours of the factory. However you cannot walk around the tea plantations. Unfortunately I didn’t understand that seeing the pictures of the site and I was quite disappointed. In conclusion count 1 hour to visit and around 30 minutes to get there with a car.
- Don’t forget to stop at the lookout on the way. It’s called « Iconic Cameron Sunrise Viewing Spot » on google maps.
- Bharat tea plantation : This was my personal favourite. You can walk around the plantation as well as stay in the Café. You can also rent a bungee to go around the plantations. The entrance is 4 ringgit per person. You can easily stay more than an hour walking around.
Pick your own strawberries
There are several strawberry farms in Cameron Highlands. Actually you will see that the whole town is big on strawberries and for a good reason. They are delicious ! The big red strawberry farm allows you to pick your own strawberries and that was a very cool activity. Unfortunately they ask to pick at least 1kg and that can be a lot of strawberries if you’re only two like us.
Enjoy a British tea time
Honestly it was one of the highlight of the weekend for me. We stayed at the Cameron Highlands resort which is a historical colonial British house transformed in a luxury hotel. In this hotel they are offering a tea set from 3pm-6pm and either you stay or not in there you’re allow to come for tea time. We paid 130 ringgit the tea set for two person.
Picnic in the tea plantations
Arrange with your hotel a picnic in the tea plantations. You will be taken in the middle of the plantations for a nice lunch. In addition it allows you to wonder around the plantations which is something you cannot at BOH.
Walk to the most beautiful point of view of Cameron Highlands
Mossy forest has one of the most beautiful point of view on the tea plantations. Walk about an hour to get there. However be careful ! It can be slippery as the weather is very humid in Cameron Highlands.
Hike around the plantations
Several hikes are available to see the nature. I personally didn’t hike any of these but I heard that some were very nice especially the trails 10 and 6. There is also an hike that follows the path of Thomson. He’s a American business man of the 60s that disappeared in the forest. It’s one of the big myth in Cameron Highlands and if you visit you will hear about it. Finally you can book guided tour in the jungle. The guide can tell you a lot about the plants and the trees. This forest is one of the oldest in the world which I think makes it worth to learn a bit about it.
- Trail 10
- trail 6
- The mystery Thomson trail
- Guided tour in the jungle
Where to stay
We stay in the Cameron Highland Resort. It’s a luxury hotel in a very nice and authentic cottage from the British colony. The restaurants were delicious and the room was super cosy. I loved the mattress of the bed. Everybody is so sweet and very helpful at any time. I would definitely go back there.
Budget friendly hotels
- One of my friend stayed at the 10 Mentigit and really liked it.
In Conclusion Cameron Highlands is one of my Malaysian highlights. It is the perfect gateway for 2 nights. It has a lot to offer for everyone either you eager some outdoors activities or more relaxed ones. It’s also literally very refreshing to be up in the mountains.