The Cameron Highlands are a stunning hill station in central Malaysia that covers a stretch of land as big as the size of Singapore. It is a popular destination for backpackers seeking for beautiful scenery  and a cooler climate.

How to get there: you can take a direct bus to the Cameron Highlands from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, Malacca, Kota Bahru, Kuala Besut o Taman Negara. You can either purchase the tickets at the bus station or in advance on this website: http://www.busonlineticket.com/

Where to stay: I stayed at Orchid Haven for 6€ per night including breakfast. The atmosphere and location were great, but the beds were old, noisy and uncomfortable. There is only one bathroom inside each 8 bed dorm and no other shared facilities to use in case is taken.

Where to eat: Singh Chapati is a great option for tasty and cheap Indian food.

How to move around: most things to do are outside of town so you can either rent a motorbike, take the public bus or hitchhike.  They are quite a lot of locals visiting the region and they are looking forward to pick foreigners up to have a chat.

What to see:  I had an injure and couldn´t wear closed shoes so I had to skip the mossy forest. I visited 2 tea plantations: Bharat Tea Factory and Boh Tea State. I loved the landscape of the first one but I found it more crowded, with an overpriced cake and tea shop with a terrace overlooking the fields.  The Boh Tea State is further out of town and feels more authentic. They do free tours around the factory and explain how they produce tea.

Tip: most hostels try to sell you tours to the tea plantations, strawberry farms and the mossy forest, but you can visit all of this places on your own without a guide. Just be careful at the mossy forest as I heard about some robberies happening on trail number 9.

Boh Tea State

Bharat Tea Factory