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We had been to Malaysia a couple of times before but had never had the time to venture into the Cameron Highlands, one of the largest hill stations in Malaysia, an area the size of Singapore. This time, however, as part of our 6 months around Asia, we made a point of setting a few days aside to visit this beautiful cool climate hilly region famous for growing my favourite beverage – Tea!
I had booked online a couple of seats on the Unity Express bus. The SL Central bus station was a handy 10 minute walk from our hostel Explorers Guesthouse close to Chinatown in KL. The bus with its huge reclining seats was very comfortable which made the three hour journey very pleasant indeed. Once you left the city suburbs the lush green mountain scenery was delightful as you wound your way up into the highlands.
Tanah Rata is one of the primary gateway towns to the highlands and has everything a traveller needs with cheap accommodation, banks, bars, money changers, cafés, restaurants, travel agents and it even has a Starbucks!
The town itself isn’t all that attractive but what lies beyond it is where the true beauty unfolds. Being at an altitude of 1,440 meters (4,720 feet) above sea level the climate is noticeably cooler and dryer than KL and rarely gets above 22C.
Our hostel Fathers Guesthouse was a handy two minutes walk from the bus station and centre of town. The hostel is one of nicest places we stayed in so far and is run by a French lady (Valerie) and her Malay husband. The hostel had a tour desk so we discussed with Valerie the various options on tours of the surrounding areas. We picked out a couple of half day tours but before we made our decision we checked out other travel agents in town to see what was on offer. Prices and tours were pretty much the same so we booked through our hostel.
In between tours we had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the many restaurants and cafes and even managed to squeeze in a much needed massage. Tanah Rata’s selection of good eateries include plenty of cheap Indian eateries serving up curries, thali and chicken tikka on banana leaves. And our favourite breakfast haunt close to the hostel called Yong Teng café run by a couple who are deaf and serves up some delicious banana pancakes and porridge for breakfast!
Day 1 – Countryside Tour
The first of our tours was called the Countryside Tour, a leisurely morning of tea, strawberries, honey, gardens, insects and butterflies. The tour would have us back at lunchtime which gave us the afternoon to relax. Out first stop was the Butterfly and Insect Farm where we were able to pick up snacks for breakfast, the only downside to our hostel was the absence of a kitchen! The entrance fee to the farm was 4 ringgits, it was quite small inside but had a good number of species of insects and reptiles which we hadn’t seen before including the rhinoceros beetle.
The butterfly part was quite disappointing; the tropical garden with its variety of colourful hibiscus made up for it.
It was then onto the Sungei Palas ‘Boh’ tea plantation, the drive along the windy road through the beautiful countryside of rolling hills of lush green temperate and tropical vegetation and neatly trimmed patchwork of tea gardens was sublime. We passed a few English Tudor style homes which are now hotels, I could see now why the British were so attracted to living here as opposed to the oppressive heat of the lowlands, the highland paradise still retains much of the charm of an English village. The climate and fertile soil is perfect for growing fruits and vegetables and is one of the leading producers of flowers and tea in Malaysia. We stopped for some photos and to have a closer look at the tea bushes, being a big tea drinker it was nice to finally see a tea plant up close and to touch the small dark green waxy leaves of the bush, normally I only see and taste the end result 🙂
The manager’s house sat up on the hill, a fine Tudor home with million dollar views over the whole estate.
The tea factory tour was quite disappointing, I was expecting a professional guide to take us through and explain the process and for it to be more interactive. Instead it was a self-guided tour with signage at each point in the process explaining the different stages. You were separated from the machinery by a (not so) clear Perspex wall which made it difficult to photograph. The best part of being here was enjoying the views over a pot of tea and cake which we shared with a nice Malaysian couple we had met on our tour.
We visited a rose garden which was very pleasant, the cooler climate enabled roses to grow quite well. There were also some amazing species of orchids, one of which was a climber called the “Lady Shoe” this and another plant that looked like an alien were the most unusual plants I had ever seen. The garden was filled with all sorts of plants and ornaments and of course a garden wouldn’t be complete without a fish pond filled with Koi carp!
The Bee Farm was also an interesting visit and we got to taste three types of honey, one of which was produced by the stingless bee and had a strong flavour. By following a walking path we could walk amongst the hives.
The strawberry farm didn’t hold much interest for us or at least the fields themselves, the onsite café selling delicious strawberry deserts and ice cream was a different story! Vaughan tried the ice cream and I had a piece of strawberry cheesecake and both were very delicious.
Our final stop for the morning was the Sam Poh Buddhist temple which was small but nonetheless very nice. It was quite interesting watching a guy paint a statue with gold leaf. We were back at our guesthouse by 12:30 just in time for lunch and an afternoon of relaxation.
Day 2 – Mossy Forest Tour
The following day we embarked on another half day tour run by Eco Cameron and one that was a little more adventurous. The main focus of the tour was a visit to the Mossy Forest of Gunung Brinchang located on the ridge of the 2032 metre-high Mount Brinchang, the highest mountain in the Cameron Highlands and a return to the BOH tea plantation. Our first port of call was the tea plantation with a stop by the fields. This time we got to witness workers plucking the tea both by hand and using machines. We didn’t get to see this on the Countryside tour as it was a public holiday.
Our guide was very knowledgeable and explained how the tea leaf cutting works and how only the new leaves are cut every three weeks, the piles of leaves are then sorted to remove other vegetation, a process that is quite time consuming.
Our guide then drove us to a spot where we could get some good photos of the estate; you can never get bored of this scenery its simply wonderful.
Further on up the road we stopped at the highest point where we could climb a lookout tower which was originally built by the English to watch for rebels hiding in the forest. Today was not a good day for views, the cloud had moved in and it started to spit with rain. Vaughan climbed up but I chose to keep my feet on the ground!
By the time we started our walk through the mossy forest it had stopped raining but like most cloud forests it was damp with a misty tablecloth hovering over the canopy. It was a little muddy under foot in places with the relief of a few boardwalks here and there. The guide would stop on the occasion to point out and explain the flora. He showed us a Cinnamon Tree with its distinctive smell of the leaves and also a tree that smelt like deep heat which was used for medicinal purposes.
The forest was simply stunning, like something out of The Hobbit, the gnarly trees with their spongy moss covered branches reminded me very much of a New Zealand forest. Our guide had taken us off the beaten track and we felt we had the forest to ourselves. It was quite thick, the track was undulating and there was some clambering involved under and over branches but eventually we reached the summit!
The forest is home to pitcher plants, tiny orchids and other epiphytes, the higher you climbed the whiter in colour the pitcher plants became as they became increasingly exposed to more sunlight. Dew covered cobwebs dazzled in the filtered sunlight through the thick canopy.
Once we were above the canopy we were rewarded with stunning views of the surrounding area.
After our walk we returned to the tea factory and our guide explained the process of the production of tea, as we had already been through the factory on our first visit we skipped the self guided tour and went straight into the cafe for a pot of tea!
Our next stop was another visit to a reptile and insect sanctuary, I thought we had arrived at the same place we visited on our first tour but we were relieved to find it was a different one. We enjoyed this one much more as it was more interactive. Our guide took the insects, reptiles and even a scorpion out of their tanks/cages so we could learn more about them, it was a great opportunity to take some close up photos.
Over the three days we had seen much of what the Cameron Highlands had to offer and it didn’t disappoint. Out of the two half day tours we enjoyed the the Mossy Forest tour the most, both the company, our guide and the tour itself was excellent.
We could have easily spent more time here as there were plenty of other things we would liked to have done like a visit to the Rafflesia, the worlds largest bloom and afternoon tea at one of the English Tudor style homes like the Lake House or the Smokehouse. I think also we would have hired a moped and done some exploring on our own eliminating the need for a tour, but as they say there is always next time!
Date Visited: November 2013
If you have enjoyed the photos and would like to see more! then the complete gallery can be viewed in the Trip Photos
Once again you have transported me to the Countries you have visited through your fantastic photos and commentary, I could live without the insects but I do have one of the Pitcher Plants in my Orchid house. Remind me to show it to you when you arrive in 3 sleeps. Can’t wait to see you both. xx
Thanks MIL 🙂 It’s a beautiful place like little England so you would enjoy it there.