Cameron Highlands District, Highland district in Pahang, Malaysia
This highland district covers three administrative subdivisions called Ringlet, Tanah Rata, and Ulu Telom, sitting at elevations above 1,600 meters. The landscape shifts between steep forested slopes and gentle terraces where vegetable farms and tea plantations grow.
William Cameron discovered this area during a mapping expedition in 1885, but it remained uninhabited for decades. The British colonial administration built roads and infrastructure in the 1940s to create a retreat for Europeans escaping tropical heat.
The Chinese and Tamil temples along the main road show the multicultural everyday life in this highland district, where vendors sell fresh vegetables at small markets. Visitors often see workers picking tea leaves on terraced slopes or cutting flowers for export to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Four different access roads connect the highlands to the lowlands, with the route through Tapah being the shortest and most traveled. Buses from Kuala Lumpur and other major cities run several times daily, and the winding mountain roads require about three to four hours of travel time.
The cool temperatures allow European vegetables like cabbage and strawberries to grow outdoors, something impossible elsewhere in Malaysia. The area also produces much of the tea sold locally, and visitors often see mist hanging between the green hills in the morning.
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