Cameron Highlands

Tea plantation

Four hours of bus north of Kuala Lumpur, the Cameron Highlands are a welcome escape from the heat of the city. I stayed in the small town of Tanah Rata, 1400 meters above sea level. At this altitude the air is refreshing, even cold during the night. I stayed at De Native Guesthouse where a camp fire was made every night to keep us warm while we were drink beer and chatting.

The region is packed with tea, strawberry, flower and other plantations. It also has some jungles where you can spot some amazing plants like the biggest flower in the world or the pitcher plant. I saw the rafflesia with a guided tour. You have more chance to see it like this because the flower blooms only for a few days and the guides know exactly where to find the next blooming one.
The next day we went with others from the guesthouse for a trek to the mount Batu Brinchang, the highest mountain of the Cameron highlands. After a taxi to the town of Brinchang we started the trek. We used the Maps.Me app and did the Trail 1. But even with the GPS it wasn't easy to find the starting point. It's located at a water reservoir, but the place is closed to the public. We had to go around it on the east side, along an unmarked path in the jungle. Bring some good shoes and long trousers.
We went down the mountain on the road on the other side. We made stops to see the tea and strawberry plantations, even picked strawberries ourselves to eat them.

Rafflesia, the biggest flower in the world. The species found here was not even the biggest among the rafflesias.


The rafflesia is a parasite growing on the roots of trees.

Pitcher plant found at the top of Mount Batu Brinchang.


Centipede

Tea plantation

Tea plantation


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