Cameron Highlands

The Cameron Highlands is one of my favourite destinations in Malaysia. Cool. Green, Quaint. Tea plantations gracing the denuded hills. Decaying villages such as Tanah Rata and Brinchang. Rain, and more rain. A delightful trip up the mountains from either Ipoh or Tapah. Those are the pluses.
However, there is a huge minus. I love walking and hiking. I have walked all over the highlands: Mount Brinchang to Tanah Rata, Tanah Rata to Brinchang town (several ways), Tanah Rata to Habu and so on. Forgiving the authorities for poorly maintained paths, what I cannot forgive is the garbage.

Go to the Parit Falls, for example, and what do you see? What could be a delightful waterfall cascading into a forest shrouded pool is nothing more than a bobbing morass of polystyrene, plastic bags, cans and garbage. It all obviously comes down from Brinchang town where no doubt the locals feel it is the most convenient way to dispose of rubbish. Either that, or judging by the hygiene standards behind the shops along the river, it is mostly what falls into the river from the piles of garbage.


Please, do something about it. The Highlands are far too beautiful to be destroyed by this laziness. 


I would not want to put you off, as a visit to the various sites such as the tea plantations and the moss forest are charming. Some of the other attractions are less salubrious. Those with more than average charm include the Time Tunnel, The rose Garden (getting a little dilapidated, sadly) and the Smokehouse.
Some of the other so-called attractions are less worthwhile: the bee farms and the butterfly centre near the Kea Farm area, 


The strawberry farms are OK, but it’s a pity the fruit is so tart. Obviously fruit today is grown for packaging and not for taste. And that is true of anywhere in the world.
Bt at night, enjoy the relative cool and wander down the main street of Tanah Rata and enjoy some great Indian food. Starbucks has now opened, which is a shame.

The place is not only suffering from a garbage problem: it is facing a fast food invasion which will only reduce the charm it once had.

But then, it is in Malaysia.