The Cameron Highlands is one of Malaysia’s most popular tourist destinations. It lies high in the mountains at elevations ranging from 3,600 ft / 1,100 meters up to 5,200 ft / 1,600 meters above sea level. Due to its location, the area has a much cooler climate than the rest of Malaysia and is a perfect place to escape the heat. The Cameron Highlands is famous for its lush green tea plantations, jungle hiking trails, strawberry farms, and flower nurseries.
The main reason we traveled there was to see rafflesia, the biggest flower in the world. Of course, you absolutely cannot miss the beautiful tea plantations. My personal favorites were jungle trekking to see rafflesia and tea plantations, and I really regret skipping mossy forest. Oh well, maybe next time.
Best Time to Go to Cameron Highlands
The weather in the Cameron Highlands is cool throughout the year, but it gets warmer in the summer months. Rain is common, with the monsoon season between November and February. If you plan to go hiking, avoid monsoon months, as there are landslide threats, and some trails can close. We went in December during the monsoon season, it rained only once during the two and a half days. But when we went jungle trekking in some places the trail was muddy and slippery.
Try to avoid the peak season from May to September. Also keep in mind that the Cameron Highlands is very popular among local tourists, so it gets very busy during weekends, school, and national holidays.
Best things to do in Cameron Highlands
Tea Plantations
The Cameron Highlands is mainly known for its tea plantations. There are three tea plantations that tourists can visit, BOH Sungai Palas is the most popular one which also means crowds and traffic jams. Try to come as early as possible. Walk around the tea fields and enjoy the views: the tea trees arranged in lines look absolutely wonderful. You can also take a free guided tour of tea processing facilities offered every 30 minutes. In a tea house, you can enjoy a cup of tea with a stunning view of the tea fields.
Rafflesia Tour
Rafflesia is a giant parasitic flowering plant with no leaves, no roots, and no stem. It attaches itself to a host plant to obtain water and nutrients. Rafflesia is the biggest flower in the world and may be over a meter (40 in) in diameter and weigh up to 10-11 kg (22-24 pounds). It occurs in tropical rainforests of South-East Asia including the Cameron Highlands.
The main reason we traveled to the Cameron Highlands was to see rafflesia. It is one of the rarest plants in the world, which is now critically endangered. It only blooms for 3-5 days, so we arranged a rafflesia tour with a local tour company. I am not a big fan of tours, but in this case, it was well worth it. They say that there are no predictable blooming seasons, and tour operators rely on the indigenous people orang asli who inform them about locations of blooming rafflesias. We hiked for quite a while and found one blooming flower and a couple of rafflesia buds that somehow resemble red cabbage.
Visit Mossy Forest
Mossy Forest Boardwalk
I regret not going to Mossy Forest. It is tucked in the highlands of Mount Brinchang and is known for its and Lord of the Rings-like scenery. Lush mossy carpets and moss dripping from the trees make look like an enchanted forest. Well, I will be going to Malaysia again, and Mossy forest is on my list. This is what I found out for my future visit.
Come as early as possible before tour groups start arriving. Besides, in the morning the mist adds greatly to the mystical atmosphere. If you come at midday, and it is sunny, it may look not as you expect.
There are several ways to get there:
- drive yourself, but be aware that the road is narrow and bumpy, you may need a 4WD
- go with a tour
- take a taxi midway, then hike the rest of the way up
- take jungle trail No. 1: it’s about 3 hours of hiking through the jungle, mostly uphill.
An Alternative to Mossy Forest Boardwalk
Many people say that Mossy Forest boardwalk reserve is an overcrowded tourist trap. The boardwalk is short and is only about 500 meters long, probably not for hikers.
But the good news is you can find mossy forests in other parts of the Cameron Highlands. It is not exclusive to this particular reserve. There are 14 jungle trails in the Cameron Highlands (some of the trails are closed due to damage). If you take Trail 10 which goes to the top of Gunung Jasar, you will hike through a stretch of a mossy forest. As a bonus, there is an amazing view from the peak. You can walk back down along Trail 6 which leads to Bharat Tea plantations.
Things to Skip in Cameron Highlands
Strawberry Farm, Butterfly Farm, Cactus Valley
Looking back, I think we should have skipped strawberry/ butterfly farms and cactus valley, and done more jungle trekking instead. These attractions could be found in other parts of the world. We went there just because they were included in our Rafflesia tour. For me, the Cameron Highlands are more about jungle trekking and tea plantations.
