Cameron Highland

Cameron Highland got its name from William Cameron, a British surveyor who was commissioned, in 1885, by the colonial government to map out the area: 712 square kilometers, one of Malaysia’s most fresh hills.

Cameron Highland is located approximately 85 kilometers from Ipoh or about 200 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur.
It is the highest point in Malaysia which is accessible by car.
During the day the temperature rises little above 25°C but at night can sometimes drop to as low as 12°C.

The plateau has an altitude about 1,200 meters above sea level, was first developed by the British in the 1920s as a sanatorium, an health resort and open farmland.

Regretfully Cameron Highland was the last stop of my trip in Malaysia, the last place visited before get back to Kuala Lumpur and from there to Burma.
I spent just 2 days, definitely not enough, and I wish to have had more time to spend there going around hills discovering nice views.

Sir George Maxwell after visiting the place, decided to transform the place into a hillside location resort.
The construction of the road was a challenge. The workers not only had to do with the weather, but also living with the risk of being affected by malaria.

In 1930 the town became very popular among locals and not only. Since then there was really a big change and devastation of the territory: golf, cottages, hotels, guest houses, restaurants, farms, tea plantations.
I expected something more primitive Cameron Highland, something like the mountains of Laos or Thailand, but the towns, especially Tanah Rata are very modern with ten floors condos everywhere.

Apart from its walks, Cameron Highland is famous for its tea plantations, vegetable farms, orchards, nurseries, insect life, soaring peaks, mossy forest, and the biggest flower of the world called Raflesia.
Cameron highland is also well known to be the last place of Jim Thompson a wealthy American man that started the silk business in Thailand who mysteriously disappeared in Malaysia, here, at Cameron highland, during a visit.

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