Despite the winding roads and traffic congestion, Cameron Highlands remains as one of the most popular highlands retreat in the country after Genting Highlands with a Zen-like charm and English influences. Cameron Highlands, unfortunately,  is no longer as cool as it used to be two decades ago.

If you’re planning a trip up to the highlands, drive. Public transportation isn’t the most reliable outside the city so if you can, rent a car from Kuala Lumpur or Penang (depending on where you’re coming from). If you have no choice, you can opt for public taxis or bring along a foldable bike if you have one.

WHERE TO STAY

There are plenty of hotels to pick from but if you’re on a budget, the Hotel Rosa Passadena in Brinchang, Cameron Highlands. Hotel Rosa Passadena is a 3-star hotel offering a total of 120 rooms including 4 penthouse suites with essentials amenities such as dining, accommodation and other amenities.

The hotel located very near the town area with easy access to the night bazaar market and shops. Room rates go from RM130+ onwards for a Twin room.

WHAT TO DO

No visit to Cameron Highlands is complete without visiting a tea plantation or two. We paid a complimentary visit to the Boh Sungai Palas Tea Plantation and spent the afternoon taking a factory tour which lasted all of 15 minutes and then viewed a short documentary on tea before proceeding to Boh’s in house cafe for tea and scones with cream. The scones there weren’t as good as we thought they’d be but the teas made up for it and we couldn’t resist buying more to bring home.

The view overlooking the plantations are a sight to behold so make sure you have your cameras on hand for the many photo opportunities with your friends and loved ones.

Places of interests include the many Cactus, Flower and Strawberry Farms around Cameron Highlands where you can shop for fresh flowers and have strawberry desserts like ice cream or jam with scones!

Strawberries are grown everywhere in Cameron Highlands and strawberry merchandise are also iconic to this place from pillows to keychains. The popular farms are located in and around Brinchang. A few popular strawberry farms are KHM Strawberry Farm and KEA Farm.

If you’re staying at one of the many apartments in Cameron Highlands where cooking equipment and facilities are provided, you can also choose to cook your own meals with the extremely fresh and cheap produce. Other activities in the highlands include jungle trekking, golfing , bird watching, all of which are accessible from the town area.

For avid golfers, there is a golf course in Tanah Rata that is open to public. For some strange reason, steamboat is also a very popular cuisine in Cameron Highlands probably because steaming hot food and cold weather go together very well.The weekend night markets located in Brinchang are highly popular among visitors but you can also find smaller night markets in Tanah Rata especially during the holidays.

So if you’re looking for a quick weekend getaway, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, Cameron Highlands will not disappoint you .

HOW TO GET THERE

Directions from CameronHighland.net: From Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, there are three main ways to reach the Cameron Highlands that starts from the North-South Highway. The most popular route is to exit at Tapah town, then follow a narrow trunk road that cuts through a lush mountain range for about 40km (an hour’s duration; drive is slow as road is windy) up to Ringlet, the first town of Camerons. From Johor Bahru, it’s a 500km (five to six hours) journey while those starting from Kuala Lumpur only travel 140km (one-and-a-half hours) to reach Tapah. Simpang Pulai is the second most popular entryway, but this is used most by travellers coming from northern destinations such as Ipoh and Penang. Some travellers prefer using this route from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore despite the extra distance, as it has purportedly greater visibility and less windy roads.

Using the Simpang Pulai route adds an extra 30km to the North-South Highway journey, then the actual road itself leads up for 50km to Kampung Raja, the northernmost town of Cameron Highlands. Finally, a recent highway has been built that starts from Sungai Koyan village to Ringlet town, about 40 minutes away from either Raub and Kuala Lipis towns (both can be accessed via the Karak Highway with an hour’s drive). This is the most secluded route, with few cars travelling on it as not many know of its existence. The journey is about 250km from Kuala Lumpur through Raub using this remote highway that passes by the Pos Betau Orang Asli settlements.