What should you know before planning a trip to Cameron Highlands?
Whether you’ve only got one day or 3 days to spare, having an itinerary to fall on will benefit you in more ways than one. Take it from us as we’ve been to Cameron Highlands countless times.
Read this post if you want to know when to go, how to go and where to stay. As well as how long to stay! And it doesn’t hurt to have some handy travel tips in your arsenal before you go.
Main Highlights Of Visiting Cameron Highlands
When you’re in Cameron Highlands, there’s no need to rush from one attraction to the next!
The point of it all is to take your time and appreciate the natural beauty around you!
- Visit a Cameron Highlands tea plantation
- Pick strawberries at a strawberry farm
- Stroll through Lavender Garden (we do prefer the newer attractions like Agro Market over this one)
- Visit a local market like Brinchang Night Market or Kea Farm Market
- Admire how big flowers get in a rose garden
- See plenty of cacti – maybe buy a couple
- Enjoy British cream tea at a colonial-style tea house
- Do some hiking (e.g. mossy forest, Gunung Brinchang, Robinson Falls, Gunung Jasar etc)
- Have a steamboat meal
And if you run out of things to do in Cameron Highlands, don’t fret! There’s more that we did not cover in this post!
Our Suggested Cameron Highlands Itineraries
Unless you plan to do some serious hiking or visit Brinchang Night Market:
You can cover most of the main highlights in Cameron Highlands in one day! Provided that the weather behaves, and that traffic is not too crazy.
The peak time for most attractions seems to be 10am to 12pm. At the same time, you should avoid passing back and forth through Kea Farm to save yourself the trouble of getting through the traffic again.
It really pays to plan your route carefully before starting on your journey. Check Waze too before you begin your journey. You never know when a tree or landslide is holding up the traffic!
Classic Itinerary (Great For Families Too)
This is a classic itinerary for first timers to Cameron Highlands! The order in which you see these attractions depends on your priority and how much you detest being stuck in traffic.
This itinerary assumes that you are making a day trip from Ipoh.
- Have an early morning local breakfast at a kopitiam or dim sum restaurant in Ipoh
- Head up to Cameron Highlands (~2 hours with light traffic)
- Stretch your legs at Sungai Palas BOH tea plantation (closed on Mondays) – we recommend having brunch here – their nasi lemak is good.
- Stop by the Kea Farm Market; Visit the Sheep Sanctuary if you don’t see a long queue at the ticket counter
- Visit Agro Market (you can replace this with Lavender Garden, but we think Agro Market is better)
- Lunch at Delicious & Happiness Kitchen 有口福美味小厨
- Pick some strawberries at Big Red Strawberry Farm
- Have scones, tea, and cake at Cado Cafe
- See large specimens of cacti at Cactus Valley
- Check out the Brinchang Night Market – usually only open on Friday or Saturday evenings
- Steamboat dinner in Brinchang or Tanah Rata
- Head back down to Ipoh if you’re not staying overnight
Note: If you take the older (windier)Tapah road up, you can detour to Lata Iskandar Waterfall!
Other places of interest:
- Butterfly Farm Cameron Highlands
- O&R Garden
- Time Tunnel Museum
- Cameron Valley Tea House 1
- Cameron Highlands Flora Park
- MARDI Cameron Highlands
Alternative Itinerary For Cameron Highlands
Been to Cameron Highlands before? Then check out the following itinerary for new attractions you might not have seen yet!
- On your way up to Cameron Highlands, stop at Hobbitoon Village (mid-way to Cameron Highlands)
- Try the scones and shop for locally made chocolates at Green View Garden
- Visit Agro Market
- Lunch at Pizzarella & Misokimchi @Tanah Rata
- Do a short climb to the viewing point of the Boh Tea Estate at Habu
- If you want, you can visit the Highlands Apiary Farm at Habu too (free entry)
- Have high tea at the Jim Thompson Tea Room
- Visit the Time Tunnel Museum and O&R Garden on your way back down to Ipoh
Adventure/ Nature Itinerary (For Those Who Want To Hike)
With this itinerary, you get to fully immerse yourself in the wilderness by taking on a hiking trail in the jungle.
- Breakfast or brunch at the Lord’s Café or at The Hidden Lab
- After reaching Cameron Highlands, you can do a combination of hiking trails, #10 and #6. These will allow you to see a tea plantation (Cameron Valley Tea Plantation) and panoramic views of the valley below. Start the half-day hike from Tanah Rata to Gunung Jasar and continue to Cameron Valley. Round-trip duration: ~3.5 hours
- After your hike, you can relax at one of the tea houses at the tea plantation – either tea house 1 or 2
- Follow this with some well-deserved downtime at your hotel (Brinchang area is most convenient with this itinerary)
- If you’re not tired, you can do the Coral Hill hike (Free entry). This takes an hour to and from the starting point. And the trail will let you see some mature moss.
- Have coffee and scones at Cado Cafe
- Check out the Brinchang Night Market*
- Steamboat dinner in Brinchang
- Head back down to Ipoh if you’re not staying overnight
*Note on Brinchang Night Market – usually only open on Friday or Saturday evenings, but they are also open everyday during school holidays.
Other hikes you can consider:
- Trail #1 (Gunung Brinchang) where you can see the mossy forest too
- Robinson Falls (starting point: MARDI)
Low Budget Itinerary
This itinerary puts together all the free attractions in Cameron Highlands. Of course, you’ll still have to spend money for food but it’s nice to not have to pay for every single place you visit!
- Visit Green View Garden – we do like the scones here and it’s free to explore their garden
- Brunch at Sister Chee’s Food Stall
- Ee Feng Gu Bee Farm (it’s free to visit their lovely garden)
- Stop at Cactus Point (Free entry)
- Coral Hill hike (Free entry). This takes an hour to and from the starting point (close to Time Tunnel Museum). And the trail will let you see some mature moss.
- Sam Poh Temple – very calm and quiet here
- Scones at The Lord’s Café
- Do a short climb to the viewing point of the Boh Tea Estate at Habu (Free entry, closes at 4:30pm)
- If you want, you can visit the Highlands Apiary Farm at Habu too (Free entry)
- Check out the Brinchang Night Market*
- Steamboat dinner in Brinchang
- Head back down to Ipoh if you’re not staying overnight
Suggestions For Hotels In Cameron Highlands
Want to relish the cool environment longer?
Here are some go-to hotels to check out according to your budget!
Budget: Traveller Bunker Hostel
Conveniently close to a bus stand:
This budget hostel in Tanah Rata has clean rooms with capsule beds, a kitchen and toilets for guests to share. And heaps of common areas where you can meet other travellers!
Finding somewhere to eat is easy and will not require a car!
Remark: Can be noisy at night
Check Best Price On: Booking.com or Agoda
Mid-Range: Century Pines Resort Cameron Highlands
Century Pines Resort offers cosy and stylish rooms in a location that’s close to local eateries in Tanah Rata town.
Breakfast is commendable!
Check Best Price On: Booking.com or Agoda
Luxury: Cameron Highlands Resort
Cameron Highlands Resort has luxurious colonial-style rooms with lovely views of the neighbouring golf course. Expect nothing less than warm service from their well-trained staff!
Join their complimentary jungle walks in the morning!
Price range: ~RM700 to RM1,900 for 2 pax/ night
Check Best Price On: Booking.com or Agoda
See more cheap hotels in Cameron Highlands. Full list of the best hotels in Cameron Highlands.
For larger groups, we recommend checking out these homestays in Cameron Highlands
FAQ
A1: Avoid the monsoon season (November and February) and weekends overlapping with school holidays & major public holidays (e.g. Hari Raya, Merdeka, Deepavali, Chinese New Year). Need more details? Read our dedicated post on the best time to visit Cameron Highlands.
A2: It is wet most of the year. The driest month is February. Months closer to June see less rain as well. The coldest months are between November and February.
A3: Summer wear with at least 1 jacket, pair of long pants & comfortable walking shoes. For hiking – waterproof jacket and hiking/ sports shoes.
A4: Hiking (e.g. waterfalls, jungle, Brinchang peak, mossy forest, etc) and visiting tea plantations, farms, gardens, and British-colonial tea houses. There is one golf course too.
A5: Tuck into a hearty steamboat. Go for the tom yum or herbal soup base for something extra! At the best steamboat restaurants in Cameron Highlands.
A6: Tanah Rata, Brinchang or Kea Farm. There are many budget hostels, some mid-range hotels and a few luxury resorts (European feel) like Cameron Highlands Resorts.
A7: If you want to use the public transport (e.g. bus, taxi) in Cameron Highlands, choose a hotel in Tanah Rata. Note that the bus usually suffers from delays.
A8: Cacti, honey products, and fresh produce. Buy them on your last day to ensure maximum freshness. The Brinchang Night Market, Kea Farm Market and most bee farms have souvenirs for sale.
Private Tour From Ipoh To Cameron Highlands
Locals drive up for a Cameron Highlands trip literally every chance they can get.
But if you’re not familiar with Malaysian roads (or the behaviour of other drivers), then the winding uphill drive can be intimidating for first timers!
So why not take a tour from Ipoh instead?
Other reasons to consider a tour:
- Places like the BOH Sungai Palas tea plantation are not an easy drive!
- If you have a larger group, this is how you can stick together!
- Someone else to plan the trip itinerary for you
- No worries with parking
- Sightseeing with local insight
- Comfortable and convenient way to get around Cameron Highlands
RayTheTour/Travelswithsun offers private tours to Cameron Highlands that start from Ipoh. The earliest departure from Ipoh is 8:30am.
Also, RayTheTour covers Ipoh day tours as well because Ipoh is more than just a jumping-off point for Cameron Highlands!
And few hours are certainly not enough to really appreciate all the history, culture and food in Ipoh!
Having an Ipoh-born guide to show you where all the lesser-known attractions are is a great advantage.
Tours with RayTheTour include:
- An experienced local guide
- Transport from Ipoh to Cameron Highlands
- Pick-up from anywhere in Ipoh (e.g. Ipoh hotel, airport, bus station, train station, etc)
- Transport around Cameron Highlands
- Transport back to Ipoh from Cameron Highlands (on the same day)
See reviews on our Tripadvisor page.
You can book a Cameron Highlands trip (Cameron Highlands Tour Package From Ipoh) with RayTheTour by sending them a message on WhatsApp.
Itineraries are highly customizable and you can combine your multi-day trip to Cameron Highlands with other locations in like:
- Ipoh (Ipoh Old Town, Concubine Lane, cave temples, etc)
- Taiping (Taiping Lake Gardens)
- Kuala Sepetang (Fireflies, mangroves, charcoal factory, etc)
- Gopeng (Gua Tempurung and Gaharu Tea Valley)
- Sitiawan (Impressive seaside temple)
- Kuala Kangsar (Royal town)
- Bukit Merah (Orangutan sanctuary)
Further reading:
- How To Go To Cameron Highlands From Kuala Lumpur
- How To Go To Cameron Highlands From Singapore
- How To Get To Cameron Highlands From Penang
Conclusion
Cameron Highlands is accessible from Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh which is why a trip to Cameron Highlands is a popular getaway from city life!
We recommend including Cameron Highlands into your Ipoh itinerary.
And this guide has all you need to know before you book that trip. And how to plan your itinerary so you can make the most of your time!
