Cameron Highlands

After a very pleasant journey by coach, we arrived in the Cameron Highlands, which are located at an altitude of between 1400-1500m. They are named after William Cameron, a British surveyor who discovered the area in the 19th century. It is famous for its tea plantations, the unusual strawberry farms that thrive in this climate, and the oldest rainforest in the world, the Mossy Forest. The temperatures up here are cool and unfortunately, there was occasional rainy weather. We stayed in the capital Tanah Rata and for the first time in a capsule hostel. From here, hikes and day trips are offered. On the first day, we hiked up Mount Gunung Jasar with other hostel residents. It was a very muddy and slippery affair (except for Philip the mountain goat), but we were rewarded with a beautiful view of a tea plantation. In the end, the path led through the plantation itself, with a tea house where you could enjoy the house's (black) tea. In the afternoon, we took a walk to a strawberry farm, where we unfortunately couldn't pick any strawberries, but at least we could indulge in a strawberry milkshake and strawberries with cream. In the evening, we had the region's famous "Steamboat", a Chinese fondue, in the vegetarian version.

The next day, we booked a half-day tour to the Mossy Forest and the largest tea plantation. The view of the endless, lush green tea plants was very beautiful and almost mesmerizing. We were explained how tea used to be and is harvested today and how different types of black to white tea are produced. In the past, all tea varieties were picked by hand. Today, this is only the case to ensure the highest quality of tea, especially for white tea, as only fresh tea shoots are used for this. As a result, it is also more expensive. The other tea varieties are mostly harvested mechanically, then softened and ground in steam to remove the stems. The smaller the pieces, the "cheaper" the tea. In principle, all varieties come from the same plant, the difference arises depending on the length of oxidation, black tea being the longest, Chinese tea being shorter, and green tea not at all. Black tea is also dried, which gives it its color. Afterwards, our tour guide walked us through the Mossy Forest, a so-called cloud forest, as there is constantly and everywhere fog hanging between the trees and it is the oldest rainforest in the world. Moss grows everywhere, sometimes the layer on the ground is 5m thick and has grown over centuries. He explained to us that hikers occasionally get lost here because due to the fog, they quickly lose their orientation and even if they call for help, they cannot be heard because the moss acts as soundproofing. But at least there are no major dangers here except for monkeys, venomous snakes, and super poisonous plants 😉 So we obediently followed the group and received a lot of information about the vegetation. There are many medicinal plants growing, such as a special moss that acts as an antiseptic like iodine or ginger, which helps with stomachaches, or a tree whose leaves contain an oil that has pain-relieving properties. In general, the moss is very important as it can extract a lot of water from the fog clouds and is therefore the fresh water reservoir of the region. The tour ended at the BOH Plantation tea house, where we had tea and strawberry cake. We spent the rest of the day relaxing.

We really liked the Cameron Highlands. The unique climate and the beautiful endless green mountains full of tea plants and rainforests impressed us a lot. Today we are continuing to the capital Kuala Lumpur.