Cameron highlands tour - Visit tea plantations

Time for tea

The Cameron Highlands are without a doubt one of the most beautiful areas in Malaysia. The British apparently thought so too when they decided to settle here and the climate must certainly have made them feel right at home; wet, unpredictable and considerably cooler than the rest of Malaysia. But most importantly, it’s the perfect place for growing tea.

The highlands are made up of rolling hills with endless lush, green tea plantations as far as eye can see, dotted with old colonial estates. During your Cameron Highlands tour you’ll be going on a short walk through the surrounding jungle and visiting one of the leading tea plantations in the world, the Boh Tea Estate where of course you’ll also get to do some tea tasting. You’ll be staying in a charming colonial hotel in Tanah Rata, one of the ‘larger’ cities in the area.

Duration	3 days / 2 nights departs daily	Accommodation	Comfortable, charming hotel. Comfort level 3 (see accommodation).
Price	£148 per person - based on 2 people sharing	Includes	2 nights accommodation with breakfast, guided tea plantation walk including lunch (tea factory closed Mondays)
Transport	None	Excludes	Other meals

Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur - Cameron Highlands (Tanah Rata)

Travel time: 3-4 hours

The Cameron Highlands tour begins in Tanah Rata, 180 miles north of Kuala Lumpur. It’s about 3-4 hours’ drive by either hire car or luxury bus (both of which we can arrange for you). Driving to the Cameron Highlands you’ll notice the temperature gradually begins to drop the higher you get. You’ll be staying on the edge of Tanah Rata, one of the three larger towns in the area and with a lot more local charm than nearby Brinchang.

On our search for nice, small-scale accommodation in the area we stumbled upon a small and very unique hotel nestled in the green hills just outside Tanah Rata. The hotel has that wonderful colonial atmosphere that’s so typical to the Cameron Highlands. This is where you’ll be staying for the next two nights and breakfast is included in your stay. Once you’ve checked in it’s a 10-minute walk to the town centre where you can wander round the little souvenir shops or grab a bite to eat in the evening. Make sure you try the ‘steamboat’ a kind of Cantonese fondue in the Restaurant Mayflower, or head next door for a great Indian curry.

Cameron highlands tour - Colonial style hotel

Cameron highlands tour - The Mossy Forest

Day 2 - Cameron Highlands (Tanah Rata)

After breakfast in the wonderfully kitsch dining room you’ll be picked up at the hotel by our local guide and continue your Cameron highlands tour. Depending on the weather you’ll drive to the tea plantations where Maniam will tell you all about the history of the plantations and the surrounding area.

After touring the tea plantations Maniam will take you to a viewpoint where you can admire the views across the green, rolling hills – if the weather’s clear that is. On the way back you’ll go on a short walk through the jungle of Mossy Forest. The path can be slippery in places so make sure you wear sturdy shoes or boots. By this time you’ll probably fancy a cuppa so, following a winding road downhill you’ll head back to the tea plantations and the most famous tea factory in the area, the Boh Tea Estate (closed Mondays). Maniam will give you a tour of the estate and show you how the tea leaves, freshly picked from the fields, are processed into the more familiar brown brew. This factory produces enough tea for 5.5 million cups a day and no less than 4 million kg of tea per year. If you’re in the Cameron Highlands on a Monday, you’ll visit a local strawberry farm instead.

After the factory visit it’s time for lunch. You’ll find a lunch box waiting for you on the picnic tables behind the cafe where you can also order a pot of tea. Try the Palas Supreme, the ‘champagne’ of the teas. After lunch you’ll drive back to Tanah Rata, stopping off at the Butterfly Farm. A bit touristy but nevertheless worth a visit. Inside the covered flower garden you can walk around among the hundreds of delicate, colourful butterflies fluttering above your head. There are also dozens of cabinets displaying the largest, and most unusual insects in the area.

Early in the afternoon Maniam will drop you off back at your hotel. The hotel is famous for its high tea, or you could wander into town later on for some dinner in one of the restaurants in Tanah Rata. If you fancy something a bit stronger after all that tea, grab a beer or a cocktail at the Travellers bistro and pub. If you walk from the hotel towards Tanah Rata’s main street you’ll see the blue neon signs on the right-hand corner just before the car park. They also serve some excellent curry here.

Day 3 - Cameron Highlands (Tanah Rata) departure

Once you've checked out, follow the winding roads out of the Highlands down to warmer climes where you'll need to get used to the hot, humid weather again. You could always extend your stay in the Cameron Highlands with a couple of days, just let us know and we'll arrange if for you.

From the Cameron Highlands you can continue your Malaysia tour in several directions:

If you'd like a couple of days of soft white sand and sparkling blue sea, then we can suggest our module Perhentian Island Escape. For a bit of jungle adventure check out our modules in nearby Taman Negara National Park or explore the fascinating Malaysian culture in our Rickshaw ride to the temples of Penang. Penang's also the culinary capital of Malaysia so food-lovers take note.

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Cameron Highlands Malaysia tour

Cameron Highlands tour - Hotel grounds

Cameron Highlands tour - Courtyard

Cameron Highlands travel tips

Best time to take the Cameron Highlands tour: The Cameron Highlands are fine to most of the year round, but be aware that in the peak of the monsoon season (e.g. November – December) heavy rains can cause landslides.

Restaurants: The Mayflower serves local specialties like the steamboat, a kind of Cantonese fondue. For exceptionally good local cuisine try Zainab Sam and if you’re looking for a good filling breakfast, try the Kampung Nasi Lemak at Gerai Opah. All these restaurants can be found in Tanah Rata.

Souvenir shops: In Tanah Rata try the Yung Seng Souvenir Shop, a slightly more upmarket shop with an interesting collection of handcrafts and utensils of the Orang Asli, the indigenous inhabitants of Malaysia.

Tea tasting: For top-quality tea, there’s only one place: Gan Seow Hooi. They also have some beautiful Chinese teapots.

Temperature: The Cameron Highlands lie at an altitude of 1300m – 1829m. The unique climate differs from the rest of Malaysia with temperatures varying between 10C and 21C and temperatures dropping considerably in the evening. You’ll need a warm sweater and waterproof jacket.

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