BY INDER RAJ AHLUWALIA
( THE WRITER IS AN INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED , MULTIPLE AWARD – WINNING TRAVEL JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR)
NEW DELHI | 24 AUGUST 2025
Sometimes, it’s all about the topography…!
Girdled by thickly wooded hills, the Equatorial’s coffee-shop verandah offered the type of views one sees in glossy tourist or honeymoon brochures. And a sudden shower added a touch of romance to things. My first thought was one of lament at the fact that I couldn’t share it with anyone. Justice wasn’t being done to the visual riches offered so plentifully.
The next time you’re in Malaysia, don’t miss out on Cameron Highlands. The hills and greenery apart, it features another attraction – relatively thin crowds.
With misty mountains and green valleys, with a sprinkling of little towns and farms, the region suggests a sense of space and serenity. Try as you might to the contrary, you’re forced to change gear and ‘slow’ down. If ever a place was made for sheer relaxation and de-stressing, this is it.
A major attraction of my local stay was the various forays I undertook to little farms and gardens thatstraddle the valley or cling to hillsides, with an assortment of blooming flowers, ferns, and plants.
Clinging to a hillside, is Taman Madhu Lebah, charming honey farm with little boxes set out for the bees to ‘operate’ in. What with all the plants, ferns, flowers and trees, this is quite the perfect setting for the bees. The bees don’t take up space, with thousands packed in one box. The resident folks show you the honey-making process and tell you how to determine if the honey is genuine; its quality; and how long a bee has to travel in order to produce a kilogramme.
They round things off by offering you a thimble-full of honey in hot water, which is supposedly good for your stomach. This provides inducement to buy something from an assortment of natural healthcare products available at ‘farm’ rates. Always a good feeling.
My next stop was at the nearby Rose Centre KeaFarm (RM 4). Perhaps because of the weather, there were fewer roses than I’d expected to find here, but this was amply substituted by the absolutely excellent views. Spread over ten levels of terrace, the farm allows you to see the surrounding country. Depending on the season, you get to see over a hundred rose varieties, of different sizes, in every imaginable colour. For good measure, there is a small but interesting rose museum that provides the flower’s history and overview. A fair-sized shop stocks a variety of items ranging from assorted souvenirs to dried flowers.
There was more to see and do, so I moved on. A short climb from the main road brought tangible dividends, in the form of Cactus Valley. Though now large in area, the site merits a visit. Nature and natural products predominate. You can poke about amidst a huge variety of neatly tended cacti, ferns, flowers and strawberries. Red lanterns strung across all over at ‘ceiling’ height, provide a dash of colour to an otherwise sober décor. The ‘shop’ that greets you on entry, is stocked with a variety of cacti and bi-products.
With some three hours of local exploration uner our belt, my guide politely suggested a break for lunch, which met with my immediate endorsement and approval.
The meal turned out to be an adventure in itself.
In the cosy confines of Restoran Ferm Nyonya, I finally managed to sample the much-touted ‘steamboat meal’, a Malaysian specialty that is unique and thoroughly enticing. There were two sections to the wok-one for the Tumyam soup and the other for normal steam items. The next forty-five minutes were all about putting sliced chicken, prawns, fish, fish balls, vegetables, noodles, bean curd and tofu into the boiling oil and water. And waiting as patiently as is possible in such circumstances! Ten minutes, and everything was cooked to a nicety and devoured with generous helpings of steamed rice.
The last ‘scheduled’ stop on my ‘drive-cum-walk-cum-climb’ sightseeing tour was Taman RamaButterfly Farm that actually houses much more than just butterflies. Resident here is an assortment of moths, beetles, scorpions, snakes and turtles, all kept in individual enclosures. Rudra Bahadur was the name of the Gurkha attendant who showed me around, animatedly telling me to hold a scorpion in the palm of my hand. “What would I gain if it bit you” he kept mentioning to me and a few other tourists gathered around, but, understandably, there were no takers. Brave soul that I am, I finally did his bidding, and got away with it.
Just in case you’re interested, there are several farms in the area. Raju Hill Strawberry Farm; Kea Farm; Uncle Sam Flower Farm; Bharat Tea Wild Orchid Farm Plantation; and Boh Tea Plantation, are a few names that spring to mind. And the entire region is dotted with little markets that put up flower and vegetable stalls. For a bit of natural beauty, visit Parit Falls and RobinsonFalls.
The towns of the highlands lie scattered in a circle. There are Ringlet, Brinchang, and Tanah Rata, all of which have their streets, shops, temples, and restaurants.
Cameron Highlands as a region with its scattered and sparse tourist attractions, offers its own type of charm that endears itself a bit slowly. But once it takes hold of your imagination, it stays with you for long time, inducing a certain sense of belonging.
Well, that’s my take on it, anyway!
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