Cameron Highlands is a great getaway from tropical city life. With fresh air and cool weather year-round, there are plenty of things to do in the Cameron Highlands for all ages. It is just three hours north of Kuala Lumpur and 3 ½ hours southeast of Penang. Our family enjoys the intertwining of jungle and farmland on a mountainous landscape.
When To Go
Malaysia is a tropical county. It is hot and humid all year in Malaysia. However, the weather of the Cameron Highlands is always cooler than the rest of peninsular Malaysia. The weather attracts people from all around looking to escape the heat and this makes it an ideal weekend retreat for Malaysians all year round.
So, how do you get away from the crowds and enjoy the Cameron Highlands without the people? The secret would be in getting away during the weekdays. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday would be ideal so you stay away from those who are taking a long weekend to visit. Traffic can be unpleasant during the weekend as people flee there from the city.
Another tip is to visit during the month of Ramadan. Malaysia is a Muslim country, and Ramadan is a month-long event where the population does not eat from sunrise to sunset. One of our hotel’s staff told us that this period of Ramadan makes for less visitors to the Cameron Highlands and therefore, one of the slowest seasons of the year for hotels.
When we visited during Ramadan, we saw few tourists and our hikes were essentially empty. This did; however, mean that many restaurants were closed during the day for lunch. So, while this is a great time to go to have peace and quiet and avoid the crowd, it is not the best time to go to try all the restaurants. That being said, there were amazing Ramadan bazaars in the evening which were fun to visit and try local foods.
Ramadan starts at a different time each year, based on the Islamic calendar, so it is best to check before going when this month-long event happens.
*Family Tip: Street markets and bazaars are some of our favorites as a family for dinner time as the kids can each choose their own food and it’s easy to get a small portion of an unknown food just to try.
Where to Stay
The Cameron Highlands is not a town, but rather an area of land found in the mountains north of Kuala Lumpur. The area of the Cameron Highlands is spread out across a 20 kilometer stretch of road on highway 59. Within those 20 kilometers are two different towns that the road runs through.
You can choose to pick an accommodation inside one of the towns or along the highway between the town centers.
From the south (coming up from Kuala Lumpur), the first town you come to is Tanah Rata. This is the town with the Freesia Bus Terminal, where buses will bring you when you take public transportation into the Cameron Highlands.
20 minutes further north is the town of Brinchang. This town is larger with more accommodation options and a mall. Being larger it loses the quaint feeling that Tanah Rata has. However, it is more accessible to northern attractions.
If you love visiting a place and hanging at your hotel, we recommend finding a place near the highway but where you can sit on your balcony and enjoy the views.
If you want to stay inside a town area, we would recommend Tanah Rata over Brinchang. There may not be as many chain restaurants, but walking through the town center is an enjoyable activity.
Active Things to Do for the Whole Family
Trekking in the Jungle
As the Cameron Highlands are in the mountains, there is plenty of trekking to do. There are trails found on Alltrails, as well as maps in most accommodations to show the way. Many of these trails seemed to take multiple hours, so we chose to only do shorter hikes with our kids.
We also found that reviews of trails were that some were closed or too risky/trashy/not enough signage. We love going off the beaten path, but we were saddened to see such negative reviews.
There are many tours touting trekking through the jungle and the mossy forest. This may be an option for your family if you are up for a long hike.
The other thing to mention about trekking is that we came across many tour operators who highlighted a walk to the rafflesia flower, the largest flower in the world. While this could be a good option if you really want to see the flower (they will trek you directly to the flower), it is also many hours in the jungle to see a flower and then turn around and leave again.
So when it comes to trekking, do your research, and make an informed decision. We have trekked through the forest in Gopeng, a town just two hours west of the Cameron Highlands. Because of this, we made the decision not to do a long trek at the Cameron Highlands, but rather do shorter hikes in the tea plantations.
Hiking the Tea Plantations
There are several hikes to do in the tea plantations. Our first hike was from the Boh Tea Centre Habu. This tea center had a hike to a viewpoint. It took us about 15 minutes to get up to the top. The view of the Boh plantation from the top was beautiful.
The second hike we did was in the Cameron Valley Tea plantation. This was right off the main road, highway 59. We were able to hike up to the Cameron Valley Tea sign, and then there were hikes in different directions from there. You could hike to Cameron Valley Tea House 2 the other direction. Not only did we enjoy the views of the tea plantations, but since there were various paths, we were able to hike for as long as the kids could handle before they got tired.
Hiking in both of these tea plantations allowed our family to get up close to their tea bushes. Being able to walk through the tea plants was special and our family really enjoyed it. We all got a good respect for the process of how tea is made.
Relaxing and Looking at the View for the Whole Family
One activity we all enjoyed as a family was trying the scones and tea at different tea houses around Cameron Highlands. There are several tea houses and hotels with great views!
The Lakehouse Cameron Highlands
Boh Tea Centre Sengei Palas Garden
Each place has wonderful views, but the tea and scone options are varied and you can enjoy everything from high tea with a platter of pastries to a simple scone with butter and jam.
There are also flower gardens to visit. Our favorite was the Lavender Garden. Even with an entrance fee the flowers were amazing!
Price
RM 20 for adults RM 10 for children, below age 5 is free
The kids loved trying lavender ice cream and smelling all the different kinds of flowers. There is also strawberry picking inside as well. The cafe looks out on the farmland surrounding the Lavender Garden. It is right off of the main highway 59.
For the Kids
Strawberry Picking
By far, the most tourist activity for kids throughout the Cameron Highlands is the ability to pick their own strawberries. Strawberries are only grown in certain places in Malaysia where the temperature gets cool enough throughout the year. So, being in a place that has strawberries is a luxury!
There are a fair number of strawberry farms throughout the Cameron Highlands. Many are found in the area between Tanah Rata and about 5 kilometers north of Brinchang, so if one does not suit your fancy, there are others to check out.
The price can be a bit different between farms. You can be charged by the 100 grams, 200 grams, or 500 grams. You may be given one basket for every 2 people. We also noticed that some had scissors to cut with and some you picked the berries with your fingers.
But even with the variables between strawberry farms, what you will find at all of them are beautiful juicy red strawberries!
Bee Farms
There are several bee farms around the area. Ee Feng Gu Bee Farm has the largest exhibit on how honey production happens. At all bee farms, you can see the bee boxes with the honeybees coming and going, as well as some honeycomb examples. You can purchase honey at these bee farms as a souvenir.
Butterfly Gardens / Mini Zoos
Besides the flowers, strawberries, and tea, there are a multitude of other tiny tourist attractions that your family can indulge in during your time in the Cameron Highlands.
Some of the other various opportunities of things to do in the Cameron Highlands include:
Cameron Highland Butterfly Farm – Many small animals, making it more like a zoo with a petting area, as well as a butterfly enclosure
RM 15 per visit
Sheep Sanctuary – A place to feed the sheep and alpacas
RM 12 per person inclusive of a feed box
Animal Feeding Rainbow Garden– Small area with alpacas, bunnies, chickens to feed
RM 10 per person
After spending a few days, you find that there are things to do in the Cameron Highlands for everyone. The cool, fresh air, abundance of flowers, and beautiful views makes for a great visit. If you have more time in that area of Malaysia, we suggest visiting the town of Gopeng for more outdoor adventures.