Arrival in the Cameron Highlands and hike on the jungle path and through the tea plantations

Yesterday, I traveled to the Cameron Highlands in the late morning. The host on the rooftop of my hotel mentioned that it was quite cold there. Since the 35 degrees in Kuala Lumpur with high humidity didn't feel particularly warm to me, I didn't mind a little cooling down. But cold is relative. Today it was 27 degrees in the Cameron Highlands with a humidity of 93%.

But first, it was time to pack my backpack again and then take a Grab taxi to the bus station. One should be there an hour early; I arrived 40 minutes early. I thought to myself, what is this nonsense about an hour, I'll just end up sitting around forever. The bus station in Kuala Lumpur has the dimensions of a larger airport, so you first have to navigate through it until you have your specific ticket in hand and also make your way to your gate. But everything worked out; my waiting time was only 15 minutes, and then I sat for 4.5 hours in a comfortable bus with extremely wide seats and plenty of legroom. Upon arriving in Tanah Rata - the main town in the Cameron Highlands - I quickly called a Grab taxi to cover the last few kilometers to nearby Brinchang, where my hotel was located. I arrived just in time for check-in before the hotel closed for about three hours due to Ramadan. The weather was foggy, uncomfortable, and it was drizzling. The weather forecast also showed rain and thunderstorms for the next two days. Great, if that's not the best conditions for the planned hikes. After a little local exploration and meal round, as well as a short detour to the 7-Eleven, I headed to my sleeping quarters. This was also done fairly early, as the last night at the Rockpub had gone on a bit longer and was somewhat tiring. Despite the predicted bad weather, I picked a route for today on Komoot before going to bed and also booked my onward travel.

When I woke up the next morning and opened the curtains, I could hardly believe my eyes. It was sunny with a mostly clear blue sky. This is quite unusual, as there are more than half of the days in the month with rain. The Cameron Highlands are the most fertile region in Malaysia, and everywhere the tea plantations, strawberry fields, and flower farms are lush and green. After breakfast, I set off. Komoot told me that the chosen tour was difficult and required alpine experience. Brinchang is located at about 1500 m, and the goal was to go up to over 2000 m. The first kilometers were on the jungle path... And the description from Komoot turned out to be quite accurate. I entered the jungle path at one point outside the city. And then it went steeply uphill. Komoot guided me quite well, and the trail steward was mostly reliable along the entire route, so I only took one wrong turn into the underbrush and made an extra loop. One should not imagine the route as a classic hiking trail in the German way; many paths were overgrown, often climbing was necessary, crouching under fallen trees or stepping over them, crossing muddy areas, and small streams, occasionally pulling up on ropes or climbing over metal ladders. This made the overall experience quite strenuous, and although the path was well signposted, one often had to pay attention to where to go. For occasionally the path had changed due to fallen trees or landslides. It certainly had an adventurous flair. On this section of the trail, which covered 5 kilometers and took almost 3.5 hours, I didn't encounter a soul. The only sounds were the chirping and buzzing of insects, the twittering of some birds, whose daily routine I surely disturbed, and the cracking and rustling of trees. As I later noticed when exiting the jungle section, the lack of people was because the route was currently closed. Oops, that had slipped my mind, but everything was fine. At some point, I reached the highest point, Mount Brinchang Barat, at 2005 m high. And the still-clear view rewarded the effort. I took a short 15-minute rest. Now I thought, the descent would be easier. Far from it. The descent over stock and stone was incredibly challenging again; and not really a descent, because it continued to go up and down. Eventually, I did leave the rainforest jungle and from there, the remaining route of 12 km was comparatively quite easy. In retrospect, I was glad that it hadn't rained during that section for me, so the slippery, muddy ground had been manageable...

The remaining trail generally went downhill and past stunning picture-book landscapes. The route ran alongside tea plantations where diligent harvesters were at work, through small settlements, and past many switchbacks on narrow paths. And of course, I caught a decent rain shower just about 6 kilometers before the destination. Taking shelter helped little, but the next village was only 15 minutes away. There, I spotted a small café from a distance, where I then strolled in, completely soaked, and just a few meters before I intended to eat there, I noticed a pizzeria next to it. That was even better. So, I ordered a pizza, and after devouring it, the rain had eased, allowing me to stow my wet jacket back in my backpack and tackle the last hour of the hike. I had a little drizzle with me until I arrived at my hotel.

Cleaning my shoes and myself was still on the agenda, and otherwise, the evening ended pleasantly ...