Besides the famous Sungai Palas tea plantation, Cameron Valley Tea House 1 is another crowd favorite. Especially among families.
It boasts magnificent valley views of the Bharat tea estate.
But what else is unique about this place and how does it differ from the other Bharat tea houses? Find out in this post!
About Cameron Valley Tea House 1
Cameron Valley Tea House 1 is one of 3 tea houses under Cameron Valley Tea (Bharat Group).
Cameron Valley Tea House 2 is only 3 minutes’ drive from Cameron Valley Tea House 1. And it is more spacious and wheel-chair friendly.
Both tea houses offer nice views of the tea estate below.
The third tea house is Cameron Valley Tea House 3 or Tea House KT. It is further from the other two tea houses and is over at the Kuala Terla tea estate.
Its design is simpler, and it doesn’t have the high views that the other tea houses have. And thus, this tea house is not as popular.
That said, parking is easier to find at Tea House KT. Both Cameron Valley Tea House 1 and Cameron Valley Tea House 2 have their own car parks, but these are usually full.
Here’s an overview at what you can do at each of the tea houses:
| Activity | Tea House 1 | Tea House 2 | Tea House 3 |
| Shop for souvenirs | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Have tea, scones, and hot food | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Take a 4×4 jeep up to the top | No | No | Yes |
| Ride an ATV | Yes | No | Yes |
| Take a 2-way buggy service to the valley below | Yes | No | No |
| See a manmade waterfall | Yes | No | No |
| Walk around the tea estate | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Take a tour of the factory | No | No | No |
| Enjoy valley views from the tea house | Yes | Yes | No |
Ease Of Parking At Cameron Valley Tea House 1
Cameron Valley Tea House 2 is walking distance (8 minutes) from Cameron Valley Tea House 1. So, it is possible to park at one, and walk to the other.
Cameron Valley Tea House 2 has more parking slots than Cameron Valley Tea House 1.
But you must be very careful. Because you’ll be walking along the main road with 2-way traffic and bends that hide you from the drivers’ line of sight.
Some take the risk of parking along the road, but we think this is just making the flow of traffic worse.
An alternative parking spot that is also walking distance from Cameron Valley Tea House 1 is over at Sky Farm Agro Highlands Sg Bisik. Parking is free here and we did not see any parking attendants or staff when we parked here.
PS: Sky Farm Agro Highlands Sg Bisik opens their strawberry section for picking on Fridays.
Dining At Cameron Valley Tea House 1
During weekends and public holidays (especially school holidays), you can expect the tea house to be full of people from breakfast until the early evening.
Cameron Valley Tea House 1 opens from 8am to 7pm from Friday to Sunday. And 8:30am to 6pm on weekdays.
From the car park, it’s a few steps down to the terrace. The counter is at the front of the entrance, and you can place your orders here.
The sitting area of the tea house is at an open-air terrace (just fans, no air conditioning), with tables in the middle and tables along the edge of the terrace. These edge seats are usually taken since you can look directly into the valley from these seats.
We find that the dining environment at Cameron Valley Tea House 1 is not as clean as at the BOH Sungai Palas tea centre but it’s still acceptable.
They have scones and tea at the tea house. We will add that the scones look better than the ones at BOH Sungai Palas tea centre too.
A set of 2 scones costs more than RM14. Which is still more worth it than what you can get at BOH Sungai Palas tea centre.
But the texture is lacking, and thus, we like the scones over at Cado Café or Green View Garden much better.
Strawberry tea is a popular beverage here. We decided to get a different beverage for our afternoon break. But we found the teh tarik very sweet even though it was rich in taste.
We already had lunch so we didn’t order any food. We did observe quite a few orders for burgers over at Cameron Valley Tea House 1.
Service At Cameron Valley Tea House 1
Besides the service from the café staff (which is speedy and efficient by the way), there is the buggy service.
And the ATV rental station is lower down the path into the valley.
We have not tried the ATVs over at Cameron Valley Tea House 1 but the vehicles here look newer than the ones at Tea House KT.
You can get tickets for the buggy service (RM15 per adult, RM7 for kids) beside the terrace. If you see a long queue, it’s not for the tickets but for the buggy service.
Each buggy only takes about 15 passengers at a time. The color codes for the wristbands dictate which buggy you can go on too.
If you don’t need the buggy service, it costs RM4 per adult (orange wristband) to access the valley via the walking path. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to walk down to the lowest point.
Note: The buggy service is fast, so you can’t really take in the sights at your own pace like you can with walking.
What To See At Cameron Valley Tea House 1
Walking down to the valley from the tea house is easy if you don’t have mobility problems and are of moderate fitness.
Colorful pinwheels blow in the breeze as you make your way down. Steps are uneven so watch your step.
As far as where to go, we just follow the crowd down to the manmade waterfall. It’s a pleasant walk under the shade of mature trees and greenery around.
There are multiple rest stops along the way, plus a small viewing platform.
Go past the ATV station, and you’ll reach the buggy pick up point. There is a toilet block here.
Off to the side of the buggy waiting area are steps that will take you down to the manmade waterfall. It’s much smaller in person and the walkway can be muddy after rain.
There’s a bridge that goes over the waterfall, and you can use it to cross over a clear stream (there are baby fish in the stream) where there is a small outdoor café.
A lot of families like to gather here. There is a second block of toilets here too, but it was much dirtier than the first.
Behind the little café is a replica of a traditional kampung house. We did not enter it since it was already full of people.
You can go past this kampung house to follow the winding trail up one of the hills to where the sign for Cameron Valley Tea is.
Conclusion
Cameron Valley Tea House 1 is more accessible than BOH Sungai Palas tea plantation and this is one of the reasons why so many families prefer to come here.
But for the best experience possible:
Go early in the morning (before 9am is best) to avoid the crowds and have the views from the tea house to yourself. There are more options for hot food available too if you get here before lunch time.
We think the best way to enjoy the valley is to walk, but if you really can’t, then it’s great that there is a buggy service over at this tea plantation.
See other options for tea plantations in Cameron Highlands here.
