Cameron Highlands: tea hills and the mossy forest

Cool air, rolling tea plantations, strawberries and a fairy-tale forest dripping with moss on the highest road in Peninsular Malaysia.

Area

Overnights

Start from

Kuala Lumpur

Distance

about 200 km north

Time needed

2–3 days

Best season

All year; March–September tends to be drier

Difficulty

Moderate

Transport

Bus from TBS or Pudu to Tanah Rata, about 4 hours

Tickets & rules

None for most trails; some trails require a guide or are temporarily closed

Why go

After a few days in the heat of KL, the Cameron Highlands feel like a different country. At around 1,500 metres, the air is cool, the evenings call for a sweater, and the hills are covered with tea plantations so neat they look like green velvet.

The classic walk is through the tea estates of Sungai Palas, where you can sit on a terrace with a pot of local tea and a slice of cake, looking out over the slopes as pickers move between the rows. Higher up, the Mossy Forest on Gunung Brinchang is a cloud forest of twisted, moss-covered trees, pitcher plants and orchids, with boardwalks through the mist.

There are also strawberry farms, vegetable markets, bee farms and rose gardens, all slightly kitsch, all fun. Above all, it’s a place to slow down.

The story

The highlands are named after William Cameron, a British surveyor who mapped the area in 1885 and reported ‘a sort of plateau’ in the mountains. Nothing happened for decades until the 1920s and 30s, when a road was built and the colonial government developed it as a hill station, with Tudor-style bungalows, a golf course and schools.

In 1929, a British businessman, J.A. Russell, founded the BOH tea plantation, and the tea estates became the region’s signature. Many of the original workers came from southern India.

The highlands’ most famous mystery is the disappearance of Jim Thompson, the American who revived the Thai silk industry. On Easter Sunday 1967, while on holiday in a bungalow here, he went for a walk in the jungle and was never seen again, despite one of the biggest searches in Malaysian history. Theories range from a tiger to a car accident to espionage.

Getting there

Buses run several times a day from TBS and Pudu Sentral in Kuala Lumpur to Tanah Rata, about 4 hours, the last section on a winding mountain road. A Grab or private car is faster. Locally, taxis and tour jeeps take you to the tea plantations and Mossy Forest.

A suggested plan

1. Day 1Bus to Tanah Rata; evening walk around the town and a hot soup or steamboat dinner.
2. Day 2 morningEarly visit to the Mossy Forest before the clouds, then the BOH Sungai Palas tea centre.
3. Day 2 afternoonStrawberry farms, vegetable markets and a walk through the tea rows.
4. Day 3A short guided trail in the forest, then the bus back to KL.

Where to stay

Tanah Rata is the most convenient base, with guesthouses and hotels and food within walking distance; Brinchang is nearby.

Good to know

• Bring warm clothes and a rain jacket.
• Go to the Mossy Forest early, before the mist and the crowds.
• Hire a local guide for jungle trails; some are poorly marked.
• Weekends and school holidays bring traffic jams on the main road.