WaltInAsia 19 - Cameron Highlands, mountain in Malaysia

A bus ride away from KL, the mountain area where you can see tea plantations, strawberry farms and experience fresh air, with mornings as low as 13°C when I was there.

Getting in and out via Tanah Rata Bus Terminal

Mind you that bus routes may change, I took this bus last year and it was possible to get a bus from the, north of KL, very close to the Regalia where I was staying instead of going to the big TBS bus station.

The station is (Hentian) - Pekeliling Bus Terminal and there is a daily 1:30pm departure of an Economy bus (instead of executive) for like 20MYR instead of 50 MYR from TBS. Of course not the same service because you don't get Wifi and a comfortable seat but if you don't mind those condition for 4 hours I think it is a great deal. It was for me because I would walk before to buy the ticket a few days in advance and also walk to it with my backpack from my location instead of taking the LRT/MRT to TBS.

You can access the station by public transport as well, it is the end of the KL Monorail station at Titiwangsa served also by MRT.

Don't expect a big bus station like TBS, here it is nothing more then a few bus stops together with a few stands. Don't be afraid to ask for direction and which bus to take as it can be more confusing, it is an older way of doing business, buy a paper ticket from a booth with an actual person instead of a machine. Apparently you can still get a ticket online via apps like redbus but that not the way I did it.

I checked and as of today the service still does exist.

Tanah Rata is the main bus terminal to access the mountain in Cameron Highlands

To get out of the area you can go a day bus to check on bus routes and buy the ticket to your next destination, for me it was going to be the town of Ipoh. I went a bit off-season so didn't have to worry about not having a seat on the bus and I did buy my tickets the last few days before departure, I think you could get away by buying last minute at the station, specially in the morning as you might have more options.
Some buses went direct to Penang as well but I wanted to visit Ipoh so I took a different route, also the mountain roads can be a bit challenging and I was felling a little bit sick so I was happy to break the trip in Ipoh. Very narrow turns at some points where two buses wouldn't fit on the main road at the same time.

Guided tour to Mossy Forest and BOH tea plantation

I didn't get the best of weather when I got up the mountain, a lot of rain but I was staying only 2 or 3 nights and I had to make it count, I booked a guided tour from the hostel I was staying at for the first morning but it was raining and didn't have the opportunity to move the date so we just went. Having some fresh cool air was very nice, it was the coldest I got since I left France, I kind of enjoyed that feeling.

The famous BOH tea center, close to the plantation, you can even visit part of the factory, try different teas at their café and also buy everything from the gift shop. I did bring a lot of tea and even BOH powder ice tea so I could make it at home. I really loved visiting this place, I learned during the day that actually tea plantation are harvest every 3 weeks or something short like that, I didn't realize it would happen that often, I guess you start at one end of the field and your are back at it sooner then you would realize.

Strawberry farm

Another thing they are famous for are the Strawberries farm up the mountain,

The have some production that goes down as cargo in the tourist busses, I am pretty sure I saw them load fresh product on the way down, assuming it is what they are producing locally. So there you go Malaysia is a tea and strawberries producer.

A few pictures from the city of Tanah Rata, there are also other small village around you can go do if you have a car, I went to the night market which was close to where I was staying but still had to call a Grab/Taxi.

Conclusion

Defiantly a nice break from the city of KL and not too far away for a weekend gateway, I think making it as part of a trip to Ipoh does make sense because you are going a bit offtrack but it makes a little loop and you get to experience the mountain.

Bonus tip: Maybe a warmer outfit is necessary if you get cold, specially hiking in the early morning.