Malaysia · Updated October 2026
The Cameron Highlands district is a hill station in Pahang, about 1,500 m1 above sea level and roughly 200 km2 north of Kuala Lumpur, and you can only reach it by road3.
The guide is split by what you need to decide: what to do, which town to use as your base, how to plan your days and where to sleep.
The itineraries cover a day trip, an overnight stay and a longer weekend with an extra night. Pick an itinerary that fits your days and the stops and drives are already worked out.
Tanah Rata is the main town and a backpacker favourite1, with backpacker inns and hotels at a range of prices4. Brinchang is the highest of the three towns3.
At the cheap end, Westwood Highland near Kampung Raja charges RM60 for a dorm bed and RM1801 for a double.
Kea Farm, Cameron Highlands
RM50-per-night deposit. Foreign guests pay RM10 tourism tax per room per night
RM156–298 per night (Oct 2026, agent rates)
KAYAK (booking agent) · Trip.com (booking agent) · HotelsCombined (booking agent) · The Edge Malaysia (news)
Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands
Tourism tax RM10 per room per night (about RM20 on peak days), paid at check-out; MYR 200 deposit
From RM265.50 (Superior) to RM545.59 (Duplex Suite) per night, 2026
Century Pines Resort (resort) · Trip.com (booking agent) · sonnenklar.TV (booking agent)
Ringlet, Cameron Highlands
Plus 8% service tax, RM3/night state charge and RM10/night tourism tax for non-Malaysians. Package bookings are non-refundable.
From C$249 a night (Kayak, Oct 2026). Wikivoyage lists from RM465
ca.kayak.com (booking agent) · Wikivoyage · trip.com (booking agent) · The Lakehouse Cameron Highlands (resort)
You can compare bases on where to stay in the highlands, look through the budget hotel options compared, or read the Brinchang guide.
You get there by road only3. Buses from Kuala Lumpur’s Terminal Bersepadu Selatan take about 4½ hours1 (checked October 2026) to Tanah Rata. From Ipoh, the PerakTransit bus takes 2–3 hours1.
Overnight VIP buses from Singapore’s Golden Mile Complex take 10 hours, and Unititi’s daily bus from Jerantut (Taman Negara) takes 4½ hours1. Most buses end at Tanah Rata’s bus terminal.
Drivers leave the North-South Expressway at Tapah for Route 59, or at Simpang Pulai near Ipoh for Route 145.
Coming from Tapah you reach Ringlet first, where the roads from Tapah and Raub meet. From Simpang Pulai the first town is Kampung Raja.
Tanah Rata, 6 km on from Ringlet, is the main commercial and tourist town.
Carry on to Brinchang, the highest of the three towns.
Fares and every route up are on the page with routes and fares from KL, Ipoh and Penang.
Cameron Highlands stays cool all year. The mean annual temperature is 18 °C, days seldom go above 25 °C and nights can drop to 12 °C1, so pack a warm layer.
It’s getting warmer, though. In December 2025 the president of the group Reach told Utusan Malaysia the average had risen from 20 °C to 24 °C5. Check the month-by-month weather and visiting guide before you pick your dates.
Tea is the big draw in Cameron Highlands, and BOH Tea and Bharat Tea3 run the plantations best set up for visitors. Around them you’ll find strawberry farms, flower gardens, cactus nurseries and markets3, and jungle trails1 lead to scenic spots, waterfalls and aboriginal villages.
The Cameron Highlands Butterfly Farm at 43rd Miles, Kea Farm6 stands next to the Butterfly Garden1, and the two show similar exhibits. For an easy hour in town, Coronation Park is the public park in Tanah Rata.
We may earn a commission on Viator, Klook and GetYourGuide bookings, at no extra cost. Affiliate disclosure
Day tour
From US$18.35
See dates on Klook
Day tour
From US$65.19
See dates on Klook
Day tour
From US$120
See dates on ViatorHalf-day and full-day options sit side by side in the Cameron Highlands tour packages.
Chinese Wikipedia gives the district's name as 金马仑高原县.
Genting sits higher, at about 1,800 m against about 1,500 m for Cameron Highlands. Gunung Brinchang, the top of the Camerons, reaches 2,032 m.
It covers 712.18 km² and borders Kelantan to the north and Perak to the west.
William Cameron, a Scottish explorer and geologist. The tableland was developed in the 1930s.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons and Pexels. Authors and licences: image credits
