Cameron Highlands

My next intended stop after the Taman Negara National Park was the Cameron Highlands. I was tempted to go to the Perhentian Islands from Taman Negara, which is a great place to go for beautiful beaches and snorkeling opportunities. I decided not to in the end because it's where Jake died and people may think I'm a bad person for not going to pay my respects but I know if I went there I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself for obvious reasons. Getting anywhere on public transport from Taman Negara was a challenge, with an expensive private shuttle minibus operating once daily to KL, Perhentian Islands, and Penang via Cameron Highlands from Kuala Tahan. I however decided to attempt to take local buses to the Cameron Highlands, a far cheaper way of doing things.

As I caught the bus from Kuala Tahan to Jerantut on the Wednesday, I had a chilled out start to the day. The locals at the bus station were actually really helpful the previous day and helped me plan my journey to the Cameron Highlands. My first bus took me from Jerantut to Kuala Lipis. En route however there was an overturned truck which caused a few delays. When arriving in Kuala Lipis my next bus was to Raub. My final bus was from Raub to Tanah Rata which was my planned base to explore the Cameron Highlands. That bus was however delayed by 3 hours which meant a very long wait in some very humid weather! When the bus finally did come it was packed, but luckily it emptied out at Sungai Koyan. I didn't end up arriving into Tanah Rata until darkness.

The Cameron Highlands are located at altitude which means it's a nice area to get a bit of respite from the heat and humidity elsewhere in Malaysia. It's still hot when the sun is out, but certainly at night the temperatures are nice and cool. It's perhaps most famous for its vivid green tea plantations which cling to the sides of the hills, as well as its many strawberry farms. There are also some great hiking opportunities in the area. My base of Tanah Rata was only a small town centered around one street, but there were several pleasant cafes and outdoor eateries so it was a good base to explore the area.

After collecting a map of the walking trails and main tourist attractions in the area, I decided I would do a trek through the jungle out to the Boh Tea Estate via the 1840m summit of Gunung Berembun. The walking trails in the area were arranged in a number based system, although I was advised they were poorly maintained and notoriously hard to find. Apparently local tour guides go out twiddling with the trailheads to try and make you book tours instead of going out self guided. That was exactly the case, as when looking for trailhead 7 it was located round the back of a hotel and there was no sign to get there. Luckily the locals helped me. When actually on the trail it was easy to follow, it was just finding the actual trailhead!

The hike up to Gunung Berembun was pretty steep and muddy, and it was actually pretty disappointing at the top as the summit was just in the trees and didn't really have any views. From the summit I headed down trail 8 to Robinson Falls, the descent very steep and slippery! Once again however when arriving at the waterfall it was a little lacklustre, the waterfall itself littered in garbage. From the falls I had to follow trail 9a towards the Boh Tea Estate, and it felt as if that trail hadn't been walked for years as there was a lot of bush bashing and it was incredibly overgrown! Eventually I reached a point where I couldn't physically go any further so I dropped into this farm where the workers on the farm helped me get to the road.

When on the road it was a lot easier and I headed into the Boh Tea Estate. It was actually really pleasant, initially going through some lovely farmland, before reaching the tea plantation. There were trails everywhere through the plantation which you could freely explore, and it was a very tranquil setting with lush green tea crops clinging onto the hillsides as far as the eye could see. At the end of the road there was a tearoom and the factory where they make the tea. On the way back out I visited this small strawberry farm where they had a pick your own, and they were very yummy.

I eventually made it to the main road at Habu Village. From here I had to follow the road back towards Tanah Rata, although as I had dropped down a fair way to Boh it was a long slog back up a winding road. En route I stopped at the Cameron Bharat Tea Estate which was a more touristy tea estate, but it had a really nice tea room which overlooked the plantation. This dog decided to follow me to the tea room though! After having a walk round the plantation, the dog was sitting there waiting for me, and ended up following me all the way back to Tanah Rata!

The next morning when I went out for breakfast, the dog that followed me found me again! Luckily it only kept me company for breakfast, with my plan to head towards the Sungai Palas Tea Estate, stopping at places en route. My first stop of the day was Parit Falls, although once again it was a little lacklustre due to the garbage surrounding the falls. From here I headed to Brinchang, the next town north where I visited a couple of temples including the Sam Poh Temple. Heading north from Brinchang I followed the road where I passed several strawberry farms, garden centres, and roadside market stalls selling stuff like fruit and veg, and some very tacky souvenirs.

My first stop on the way up was Cactus Point which was a nice little garden centre selling lots of cactus plants. From there I reached Kea Farm which was a bustling little market where I grabbed some lunch, before continuing onto the Sungai Palas Tea Estate. Like the previous day it was a lovely tranquil setting, and this one allowed you to explore the factory too which was interesting. After a good look round I started beading back towards Tanah Rata, stopping en route at the Ee Feng Gu Bee Farm. I inevitably got stung although you could freely explore the farm, and there was a shop selling an array of fascinating products. On the way back to Tanah Rata I was tempted to visit this butterfly farm, although I instead checked out another strawberry farm in Brinchang which as well as doing pick your own had a strawberry desert cafe so I had to go there, before getting back to Tanah Rata a nice and reasonable time.