How to Spend 3 Lush Days in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

While we were in Malaysia, doing a 3-day trip to the Cameron Highlands was one of the best decisions we could have made. Kuala Lumpur was stiflingly hot, it was raining constantly, and we were running back and forth all day in the smog-filled capital, breathing in the exhaust fumes of the incessant traffic. Cue our vacation from our vacation, the beautiful fresh plains of the Cameron Highlands. Nestled amidst the lush hills of Tanah Rata, Malaysia, the Cameron Highlands boasts a serene and fresh beauty that’s much-needed after the chaos of Kuala Lumpur.

As we made the drive up from Kuala Lumpur, I could see the landscape changing around us. Everything turned green and misty, and the air temperature dropped—though not to an uncomfortable level. I felt as though we had entered a totally different country. You can feel the stress melt away as you take in the picturesque landscapes of rolling tea plantations, colorful flower gardens, and mist-shrouded hills. The Cameron Highlands is the perfect place to explore scenic trails, sip on freshly brewed tea, and take a deep breath in the tranquility of Malaysia’s most enchanting highland retreat.

The Cameron Highlands is a popular getaway area for Malaysians, so the entire area feels calm, peaceful, and almost rural. You deserve a breather on your bustling Malaysia trip!

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How to Get to the Cameron Highlands

Getting to the Cameron Highlands is often the trickiest part of planning a trip here. Unlike other destinations in Malaysia, there isn’t really a public transportation system that makes it easy to get around. The roads up to Tanah Rata and the surrounding towns are winding and take several hours, so most travelers rely on private transfers.

When I visited the Cameron Highlands, I arranged a Grab driver to take us from Kuala Lumpur directly to our hotel in the Cameron Highlands. The drive took about four hours and cost us 500 RM each way—definitely more expensive than a typical Grab in Kuala Lumpur, but considering the distance, I thought it was worth it for the convenience. All in, the round trip came out to around 1000 RM.

If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option, there are direct buses that run from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Ipoh to Tanah Rata, the main town in the Cameron Highlands. The buses take a bit longer because of the winding mountain roads, but they’re far cheaper than a private car.

Where to Stay in the Cameron Highlands

In my opinion, there’s only one place to stay in the Cameron Highlands…and that is the fantastic Cameron Highlands Resort. I’ll rave more about this luxurious 5-star hotel later, but everything about it is just the epitome of elegance and perfection. The hotel property carries a lot of influence from the colonial British era, from the building design to the interior to the classic English afternoon tea. The rooms are spacious and come with a small open-air balcony that allows you to breathe in the fresh dewy air every morning, and the staff is beyond wonderful. Service is very attentive and thoughtful as well, possibly one of the best teams I have ever encountered.

We spent 2 nights and 3 days staying at the Cameron Highlands Resort and it was the perfect length of stay—of course, you can stay longer, but I felt like we had recharged sufficiently and enjoyed the slower local pace of the region. Any shorter than that and it might feel rushed, so I’ll urge you to also do 3 days.

Transportation Around the Cameron Highlands

Once you’re in the Cameron Highlands, transportation gets even more limited since there’s no Grab or rideshare service available in Tanah Rata or nearby towns. I ended up asking the concierge at our hotel for a local taxi driver’s number, which made it much easier to get to the different plantations, markets, and other things to do in the Cameron Highlands.

Some drivers also offer package rates, where you can book them for a few hours at a fixed price, which I found helpful for visiting multiple sights in a day. It’s a lot easier to have someone to rely on when you need to move from one location to another!

📰 Going to Kuala Lumpur, too? It’s one of the most popular cities in Malaysia for a reason! Read my guide to the best things to see and do in Kuala Lumpur here.

Cameron Highlands Day 1: All About Tea

Morning & Afternoon

On your first day, you likely won’t get into Tanah Rata until noon at the earliest. Take some time to check into the beautiful Cameron Highlands Resort and enjoy the surrounding scenery before heading off to the stunning BOH Tea Center. The elevation and climate of the Cameron Highlands are perfect for growing delicate tea leaves, and indeed this region of Malaysia is famous for its tea exports. There are many tea fields in Cameron Highlands, but BOH is the most well-known of them all.

Prepare to be wowed by the sheer size and rich history of this iconic destination in the Cameron Highlands. Spanning over vast hectares of rolling hills, the BOH Tea Center is a sight to behold. Established back in 1929, this tea haven holds a legacy of over 90 years, producing some of Malaysia’s finest teas. Enjoy the sweeping views from the observation deck before settling down at the Sungei Palas Tea Garden (the cafe) to try some tea and cake for yourself. We got their signature tea and also a slice of delicious green tea cake to match. It was light, refreshing, and delicious—everything you would expect from a region renowned for its tea production!

What many people don’t seem to know is that you can actually walk through the tea fields. We walked quite far out of the parking area, back towards the hills, and enjoyed the lush and endless rows of tea spanning all the way to the horizon. We even came across some workers picking leaves in the distance, and they waved at us merrily. The fields are so vast that even though many people come to visit BOH Tea Center, you probably won’t see another soul! Personally, I could have spent hours here simply wandering through the dizzying maze of bushes. Just tell me why I expected it to smell like tea (news flash: tea leaf bushes don’t smell like anything).

🍵 BOH Tea Center is open Tuesday – Sunday from 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM. If you are visiting on Monday or for any other reason it’s closed on the day you go, perhaps check out Cameron Valley Tea House instead as your backup option.

Evening

After an afternoon well spent among the tea leaves, come back to the hotel and eat a delicious fine dinner at the Cameron Highlands Resort’s dining room. We were charmed by the elegant and refined dishes, which all came with more tea, of course! I would recommend trying the ice plant salad; it is a vegetative specialty of the Cameron Highlands, and while you can find it in other areas of the world, the dish is crafted with finesse and care here. We also enjoyed classic entrees like duck, steak, and sea bass.

After dinner, feel free to relax in the piano room or retire to your elegant room for the night. Enjoying the peace and quiet of the evening is part of what makes the Cameron Highlands worth visiting!

Cameron Highlands Day 2: Strawberries and Lavender

Morning

The second day in the Cameron Highlands starts off with the best breakfast I’ve ever had in Malaysia! The culinary team at Cameron Highlands Resort certainly doesn’t mess about. Since we were staying with them for press reasons, the staff took special care to ensure that we captured lots of photos and experienced only the best of their food. That meant that for breakfast, we received a portion of every single dish on their breakfast menu! Everything was incredibly delicious and well put together. I was dazzled by the elegant combination of Malaysian flavors like curries, soup noodles, and porridges fused with British influences such as the toasts, pancakes, and teas.

🍜 Read more: Top Eats: Best Restaurants in Kuala Lumpur for All Foodies

If you stay at the Cameron Highlands Resort, you probably won’t be trying every single dish, but I urge you to make it to breakfast no matter what. Breakfast is served a la carte and the chefs clearly take great pride in their work. My personal favorite is the curry toast with egg—it’s so rich and savory, with a hint of spices, but not too heavy for the first meal of the day!

After breakfast, call a taxi or your dedicated driver and head out to do one of my favorite activities: pick strawberries! Along with tea, strawberries are one of the special products of the Cameron Highlands. We ate quite a lot of them and while they aren’t particularly sugary in flavor, they taste incredibly fresh and tart. The texture is also perfect, with no overripe mushiness to speak of. There are at least a half dozen spots to pick strawberries in the Cameron Highlands, so feel free to choose any one. I like Raaju’s Hill Strawberry Farm, EQ Strawberry Farm, and Big Red Strawberry Farm. Plus, you can get strawberry-related products such as jam, ice cream, and waffles if you get tired of picking your own.

Afternoon

After a tough first half of the day picking delicious red strawberries, head back to Cameron Highlands Resort for afternoon tea. Afternoon tea is a British classic and the trend has persisted, especially in fine establishments like Cameron Highlands Resort where they still carry a lot of British influence. I’ve always been very partial to afternoon tea. It’s a wonderful excuse to eat pastries and sandwiches, drink lots of fragrant tea, and chat with your friends.

I love the afternoon tea set at the Cameron Highlands Resort’s Jim Thompson Room. The desserts are small and elegant, full of varying flavors, and the sandwiches are light and savory. The scones are perfect with clotted cream and jam and of course those amazing strawberries. And to wash it all down with some of the best tea in the world!

If you’re not too tired after afternoon tea, you can visit the popular Lavender Garden. This covered arboretum is one of the most popular attractions in the area, though most of the flowers inside aren’t actually lavender at all. However, I did love seeing all the beautiful flowers and plants. You can even get lavender ice cream, which is just delicious. They also have their own strawberry picking area, but the strawberries there looked too small and over-picked so I do recommend going to one of the specialty farms that I mentioned above instead.

🇲🇾 Read more: Which Cities Should You Visit in Malaysia?

Evening

For dinner, head out to have some delicious steamboat! Also known as a form of hot pot, there’s nothing better than clean broth and hot soup on a cool evening in the Cameron Highlands. I recommend going to Hot Pot Time. Not only is it delicious and reasonably priced, but the staff there really goes above and beyond. We stayed a bit later into the night than expected and weren’t able to call a taxi back, so the owner personally drove us back to the hotel. He came back again that night because I had left my phone in the car! Make sure to show them some extra love and enjoy the comforting food they have to offer.

Cameron Highlands Day 3: Departure

On the third day, it’s time to check out and head back to Kuala Lumpur or your next destination. Don’t forget to have your incredible breakfast courtesy of the Cameron Highlands Resort team before you go!

Then it’s finally time to move on from this gorgeous highland paradise. I’ll never forget the wonderful getaway that is the Cameron Highlands and I fondly look forward to the next time I can return to this land of clean air, peaceful local vibe, and fragrant tea!