Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Hiking through the tea fields outside of Tanah Rata
Our impressions of the Cameron Highlands
Even more stunning than the photos: Because we’re traveling for a year, we’re lucky to be able to go to places that we wouldn’t get to during a week-long vacation. The Cameron Highlands is one of these places. When researching Malaysia, we stumbled upon beautiful photos of tea fields in a place called the Cameron Highlands and decided we had to see it in real life. The place was even more beautiful than the photos suggested. We couldn’t take our eyes off of the tea fields – perhaps the only crop that could make rolling hills look even more beautiful than they are in their natural state – and loved the mountainous surroundings
Awesome hiking: One of the main reasons we decided to go to the Cameron Highlands was for its jungle hiking. During our time there, we had a chance to explore three jungle trails and many other short walks around the main towns of Tanah Rata and Brinchang. It was some of our favorite day hiking that we’ve done on our trip due to the varied terrain and lovely climate between the jungle and tea fields
Malaysian tourist hotspot: Similar to other spots in Malaysia, we found ourselves to be some of the only Western tourists in the Cameron Highlands. However, this place was packed with local tourists. We were in the Cameron Highlands during a school holiday and quickly learned that Malaysians flock to the Cameron Highlands as an escape from the oppressive heat and humidity in KL. We also learned about the strawberry industry in the Cameron Highlands which somewhat artificially sprung up out of nowhere. Strawberries are not a fruit commonly found in Malaysia (or SE Asia for that matter). Local entrepreneurs realized that Malaysians were very fond of strawberries and established the industry of strawberry picking (in greenhouses where they’re grown) and strawberry everything (shirts, scones, jam, etc.) in the Cameron Highlands. We didn’t partake, but found it to be super interesting
What we saw in the Cameron Highlands
Cameron Secrets half-day trip: Prior to arriving in the Cameron Highlands, we had dreams (read: delusions) of motorbiking around the tea fields and main sites in the region. On the bus ride up, we quickly realized our amateur motorbiking skills were no match for the windy, narrow, wet roads. Luckily, there are ample tour providers in the area that offer day trips to the main attractions. We read about Cameron Secrets in a blog, contacted them, and took a half-day tour to the main sites, including:
- BOH tea plantation: The tea fields were one of the main reasons we wanted to visit the Cameron Highlands and they did not disappoint. We spent time walking around and learning about the history of tea production in the area. British colonialists first brought tea to the region in the 1920s after learning that the climate was perfect for tea cultivation. We were surprised to learn that the largest tea plantations in the area still had British proprietors (to us, it seems like the land should have been given back to the Malaysian people). As we walked through the tea fields, our wise guide, Narwan, told us about how tea gets made, starting with the arduous leaf picking process. Men pick tea leaves in pairs, carrying a 10+ kg machine through the sloped fields and manually moving it back and forth to cut the leaves. The machine is rented from the tea planation where workers are given less than 10 cents per kilogram of tea leaves picked. Because of how demanding and challenging this work is, the plantations have unsurprisingly struggled to find local workers willing to do it. They often employ guest workers from poorer countries like Nepal who are lured to Malaysia for a chance at earning more than they would in their home countries (sometimes under false premises). Learning about this process made us think critically about what making a seemingly simple cup of tea entails. Later in the day, we returned to BOH for a cup of tea and nasi lemak at their cafe. Can’t get much more farm to table than that!
- Mossy Forest: The mossy forest is one of the main attractions in the Cameron Highlands – an enchanting cloud forest with countless species of moss and other flora. Even though it was rainy and cold (a novel feeling these days) when we visited, the mossy forest was still awesome. We saw everything from insect trappers to dancing lady flowers to citronella plants
- Strawberry plantations: We made a very quick stop at a strawberry plantation on the way back to Tanah Rata (the town we were staying in). It was interesting to learn about the surge in demand in strawberries and how local businesses took advantage of it – many of them turned away from produce they were growing and shifted to strawberries upon realizing there was lots of ringit to be made. We saw strawberries growing in greenhouses and got to try some local jam which was delicious
Jungle Trail #10: The jungle trails in the Cameron Highlands are not the most intuitive or well-documented, but we luckily found very helpful Google Reviews that spelled out where to go. We tried to find Jungle Trail #10 twice on two separate days before finally succeeding, partially thanks to a friendly Dutch couple, David and Lois, that we would become fast friends with. The official start of the trail was through a small hole between a tree and a fence (no signage, but a very kind local man helped direct us). It was an awesome hiking trail that led us through the jungle with many roots and trees. While hiking and trying to keep balance with many precarious foot placements, we got to know David and Lois who were on a sabbatical from their jobs and traveling for six months . At one point, we used preset ropes to hoist ourselves up onto higher ground. It was a quick, hour-long hike that led to the top of a concrete cell tower. The ending was odd, but it had a surprisingly beautiful view of the Cameron Highlands
Jungle Trail #6: After Jungle Trail #10, two roads diverged in a jungle wood and we took trail #6 which would supposedly take us through a bunch of tea fields. But first, we had to walk down a steep, slippery, and muddy section of the jungle that made us grateful for the sunny, dry weather. We walked through fields of produce and eventually into a road that led us to tea fields. We were the only four people in sight which was an amazing experience – we couldn’t stop looking at the fields and talking about how it felt like a dream. After an hour or two meandering though the tea fields, we came across the visitor center of Cameron Valley Tea and decided to sit down for a cup of tea and a scone to tide us over until linner. We initially considered walking back to Tanah Rata and onto Brinchang (the next town over where we had big dinner plans), but upon seeing it was a 2-hour walk along the highway we opted for an alternative form of transportation… hitchhiking! Jessie stuck out her thumb and the first car we saw big enough for the four of us – a flatbed truck – pulled over and motioned for us to get in. It was a total adventure and a very fun, unexpected day with our new friends
Where we ate and drank
Sri Brinchang: The Cameron Highlands, like the rest of Malaysia, has a sizable Indian population which means really awesome Indian food. We (mostly Jessie) were a little bit hangry after our bus ride from KL, so decided to go for linner shortly after arriving. After trying and failing to find roti canai (a favorite of ours from KL), we settled on Sri Brinchang – a no frills Southern Indian spot with a tandoor oven in front. We had a delicious masala thosai (Malaysian name for dosa), gobi mutter curry, and delectable onion naan. Hangriness curbed!
Hidden Lab Coffee: Hidden Lab Coffee was basically our living room for our three days in the Cameron Highlands. We came here every afternoon for a tea, a piece of cake (or two), and a chat with the awesome owners – a brother-sister duo named Karen and Jarred. We loved hearing about life in the Cameron Highlands and picking Jarred’s brain on Penang – our last stop in Malaysia – where he had lived before the pandemic. The carrot cake was also a highlight! We spent a lot of time here mapping out our time in the Philippines (though, we would later decide we weren’t actually so interested in going to the Philippines)
Boss Taste: This was one of our more mediocre meals in Malaysia. Doug had mee goreng, Jessie had very fishy Assam laksa (that turned her off of Assam laksa), and we split cheese fries. A very weird combination, but it was a nice enough spot to sit and good sustenance
Organic Vegetables Steamboat: Steamboat (hot pot) is huge in the Cameron Highlands, so we decided we had to go one day to partake in the local tradition. We made it our mission to check out a place in Brinchang that Karen and Jarred recommended after our day of hiking. We walked for around an hour along the road, a golf course, and through a less touristy town which was neat to see. Just as it was starting to rain, we arrived at the restaurant. We ordered a vegetarian steamboat and they brought over several plates of fresh veggies, including multiple types of tofu, a heaping plate of cabbage, and thin noodles. We spent a few hours cooking our linner in a delicious broth and watching the only other patron – a large family – do the same. We’re determined to find a place back home where we can have this type of experience
Traveller’s Bar: Though we parted ways with our Dutch friends for dinner, we made plans to meet up at a local watering hole that night. We spent a few hours chatting about our travels and relearning the game asshole/president while sipping on Guinnesses and milkshakes. We learned that Guinness has a manufacturing plant in Malaysia which is why it’s the predominant beer in the country
Where we stayed
Cameron Fair: This place seriously exceeded our expectations. Our room was super modern with a beautiful view of the highlands and a bedroom separate from a room with a couch. It was a huge treat to have a space to sit on outside of the bed and we both took advantage of it to catch up with family/friends. It seemed like a spot where many Malaysian families stayed on vacation (we passed a bunch in the elevator)
