Cameron Highlands - 3 nights and 4 days
1:45 pm
The Cameron Highlands were named after Sir William Cameron, a British surveyor who was commissioned by the then colonial government to map out the Pahang-Perak border area in 1885.
Situated at the northwestern tip of Pahang, the “Camerons” is approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) from Ipoh, roughly 200 kilometres (120 mi) from Kuala Lumpur or about 355 kilometres (221 mi) from Kuantan, the capital of Pahang. It is the smallest constituency in Pahang.
The temperature of the retreat is about 18 °C (64 °F). During the day, the temperature seldom rises over 25 °C (77 °F); at night, it can drop to as low as 9 °C (48 °F) at the higher reaches.
Main Town to Visit:
Tanah Rata | Brinchang
Right Time to Visit:
Any time of the year since the temperature (as per locals) remains somewhat constant however if you do not want to spoil your vacation or spend your time (a lot of it) in the Taxi please avoid going on Weekends. This place gets jam packed every weekend given its proximity to the metros and this being a highland. On this trip, I experienced the worst traffic jam of my life (EVER) wherein we had to stay in the car for 3 hours to cover the distance as little as 1.5 to 2 km.
How to reach:
We took a Konsortium coach from Singapore to Cameron Highlands which took 10 hours to reach Brinchang and from Brinchang we were transferred to a small mini van which was provided by Titiwangsa Hotel and Tour agency who dropped us to our hotels. There are two main coach services from Singapore which are 5Star Coach or Konsortium out of which Konsortium being more popular. The seats were big & nice and nothing else (TV, Charging sockets ETC) worked. The nearest airport to Cameron Highlands is at Ipoh and you can take taxi or bus from Ipoh to Cameron Highlands which takes around 3 to 4 hours. We paid SGD 180 (return) for two of us.
Where we stayed:
We were looking for "not too bad" and "within the budget" kind of hotel hence we booked at "Century Pines Resort" which is a 3-star hotel as per Expedia and has been given the rating of 3.2 out of 5, however, I will give it a rating between 2.5 to 3 out of 5. We booked for 3 nights and 4 days in this hotel for SGD 273 (MYR 825) including breakfast.
Things we liked about the Hotel
- The staff was very polite and welcoming
- The rooms were clean
- It was in the centre of the town
- Wi-Fi (trust me it was the fastest Wi-Fi I have ever used in a hotel)
Things we didn't like about the Hotel
- Breakfast and Breakfast spread.
- The washroom taps were not operating properly ( you put the lever up and the next thing you know is that you "ALMOST" had a shower)
- The cleanliness of the corridors (yes there were a lot of dust in the corridor and on the staircase)
- The food at the in-house restaurant ( same restaurant which serves the breakfast)
Overall if you are looking for a place which is in the centre of the town, is nearby to all the good eateries around, has the fastest Wi-Fi and is right next to the taxi stand / bus stand (the main taxi / bus stand of the town) then Century Pine Resort is the right choice for you.
Money Saving Tips: If you are a backpacker then I strongly suggest to go there and search for Chalets and rooms which are available for as little as MYR 80 ( SGD 27) a night.
Where to Eat:
There are varieties of food options available in Cameron highlands, however, the most popular being Steamboat and Indian food. This place caters to all and has plenty of options for vegetarians. The most popular food joint being the Curry house for tourists and Sri Brinchang / Kumar restaurant for locals where Curry house being the most expensive and serves north Indian, Arabic (yes they have Shisha) and Western. Sri Brinchang and Kumar restaurants are better known for local delights and south Indian food and are relatively cheaper. Now if you want to experience homemade (Malaysian style) Punjabi food then I strongly recommend visiting Singh Chapati. It's a home restaurant run by a Malaysian Punjabi couple. The food is prepared fresh and taste amazing and doesn't affect the pocket too much. All these restaurants are in Tanah Rata. There is KFC in Brinchang and a Starbucks (next to Sri Brinchang restaurant) in Tanah Rata.
Money Saving Tips: Eat local, Eat at Sri Brinchang, Kumar Restaurant, Singh Chapati or pack from night market (Cheapest).
How to Commute:
There are varieties of options available for one to commute in Cameron highlands and visit various attractions. You can take a taxi which charges MYR 25 / hour(minimum 3 hours) or can book a tour directly from your hotel. One of the best, oldest and well-known tour agency in the town is C S Tours and Travels (we booked a sunrise tour package with them). If you have an international licence and are not scared of riding a bike on hill tops with traffic then I strongly suggest take a bike on rent ( C S Travel also provides bikes on rent, other then C S Tour you have UniTiti and T J's in Tanah Rata) which costs MYR 30 for 4 hours and MYR 45 for 8 hours.
If you are planning to visit Cameron Highlands and would like to hire a taxi then pls call Joe at the number below. He can also arrange for tours and is an ex-tour guide. A very soft spoken and honest local.
- This is Joe
- The bike we rented for half a day
Money Saving Tips: Rent a bike or take a tour which will be cheaper compared to the taxi.
What to see:
List of interesting places in Cameron Highlands
- Tea Plantations (Boh Tea Plantation and Bharat Tea Plantation)
 |
| Bharat Tea Plantation - Wide angle view |
 |
| Bharat Tea Plantation - You can go down to the plantations by paying RM 2 which you cannot do at Boh Tea Plantation |
 |
| Bharat Tea Plantation |
 |
| Wide angle view of the BOH Tea plantation from the glass house |
 |
The Famous BOH Tea Plantation Time Lapse of Boh Tea Plantation |
- Mossy forest
A Time lapse from Mossy Forest
- Gunung Brinchang (the highest point of Cameron highlands)
- This is the view of Cameron Highlands from Gunung Brinchang - the highest point
- Butterfly Farm - one of the very well maintained insect farms in Malaysia (Must visit if you are not scared of insects and animals)
A Hedgehog at the butterfly farm
- Sam Poh Buddhist Temple
- Night Market at Brinchang
A must visit place for cheap food and locally made chocolates, soft toys and Souvenirs. Please make sure to bargain more.
other places to see
- Lavender Garden (Very far so we skipped)
- Strawberry farm ( it is there everywhere and we have seen many in Genting Highlands so we skipped)
- Bee Farm
This is the entrance to the bee hive shown above
- Lata Iskandar Waterfall (Very far and takes 2 hours of taxi ride)
- Parit Waterfall (right next to Century Pines resort and is not so good)
- Cactus Valley (its just like a cactus nursery (Shop))
- Rose Valley (a hill full of plants and roses. nope its not a valley)
- Time Tunnel (a museum which we never visit)
- Orang Asli Village ( Orang Asli means Native ppl however it is no more Orang Asli they all have moved on)
 |
| The Orang Asli - His name is Michael Jackson |
I was told by the locals there that if you really want to visit an Orang Asli village and see their traditional way of living and hunting then you have to go to Taman Nigara. Orang Asli like Michael have already moved on. We met him on the way to see Lata Iskandar waterfall. He lives in a small makeshift hut and was completely drunk. Inspite of him being drunk (trust me I when i say "Completely") he was able to shoot acuratly on the target with his blow pipe.
Overall this was a relaxing trip and I finished the trip within SGD 800.
Now I cannot conclude this post without thanking Kesavan.
Let me introduce you to Kesavan... the guy who saved me and my wife of either walking 6 km at dead of the night with temperatures below 18 degrees on the mountains with different slopes or sleeping at a closed temple in the city. Due to the long weekend there were a lot of ppl who had come to visit Cameron Highlands and the city was jam packed (hence I advised to not travel to this place on weekends) with almost all hotels going full. We were shopping at brinchang not knowing that we will not get the taxi back to Tanah rata. We had our dinner and started looking for cab at around 8:30 pm and finally got lift till Tanah ratan from kesavan post 9:40... thanks a lot Kesavan and we really appreciate your help.
7 comments
Interesting Read! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for reading
DeleteQuite detailed and very helpful blog
ReplyDeleteThanks Raghvendra
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteGood stuff dost!
ReplyDeletethanks Dost!!
Delete