That morning, I appreciated not having to get up at the crack of dawn. Although we had booked a day trip the day before, the van came to pick us up directly from our hotel as agreed—we were the first in the group. While we were picking up the others (in a 12-seater minivan), we discovered various accommodations in the region, including one, a bit isolated, with a magnificent view and a very local style, like a country inn.
The day's program was divided into four main stages:
- Le Butterfly garden, a nursery housing butterflies, some insects (including scorpions...), as well as a beautiful variety of flowers and cacti;
- The iconic tea plantations of the Cameron Highlands;
- La mossy forest, this strange moss forest perched at the summit of Mount Brinchang;
- And finally, a visit to the factory of the famous BOH Tea company, owner of most of the plantations in the area.
1.Butterfly Gardens
I can't say that I expected much from it, me and the butterflies, you know... Well, it's pretty, that's for sure, we spend a little time in the middle of a group of Quebecers clearly amazed by everything they saw. In addition to the butterflies and flowers, we could see insects like these big black beetles, snakes, scorpions, frogs and turtles and without really knowing why there was also a big turkey... And cacti. The downside being that it's included in the tour but not included in the price... So you have to pay 5 RM per person to enter...
2. Tea plantations, the heart of the Cameron Highlands
This is already a part that interested me a lot more. The route is rather winding, the van still has to squeeze in well to be able to let cars and others coming from the opposite direction pass. And there, we arrive at a viewpoint, the one from where most of the photos that we can see of the Cameron Highlands are ultimately taken.
It's raining a little, but it's bearable, even for my camera. Most people are sticking to a few shots near where the van stopped, while I'm moving slightly away to a spot I'd spotted while passing, offering a better view. Another Frenchman traveling with his sister will follow me, commenting that there's always another fellow citizen somewhere...
After this short break of barely 1 minutes, we got back on the road, heading for the summit of Mount Brinchang.
The first spot is a little blocked by trees.
Some of our companions of the day.
Summit where are you?
3. Gunung Brinchang and the moss forest
The summit can be reached directly by vehicle, given the state of the road it is not an easy thing… but clearly our driver is very comfortable. We pass in front of some vegetable plantations (or strawberries? not seen too much, given the weather…) and the progress is quite slow because at one point it is more of a path than a road and despite the narrowness of the place it is obviously not a one-way street…
In any case, the fog and the rain are there... and when we finally arrive at the parking lot, we have the impression that everyone wants to stay warm and quiet... Even though we went down. We can't say that it was that cold, even though we had planned a sweater, it's mainly the rain, a light drizzle that drips constantly that makes the experience not the most pleasant.
And yet everyone kindly queues up to the observation tower and everyone climbs (except my wife) knowing full well that we won't see anything...
From there, the tour normally consists of a short trek in the forest. As a matter of principle, our driver/guide suggested, "Who wants to go for a trek?" (meaning in the rain, with fog and rain, which means that everyone gave it a miss and so we went straight to the next stage, the moss forest.
A forest that lives up to its name, when you see how humid it is today it's not really surprising... But here the rotten weather "worked" well with the place, it contributed even more to this slightly mysterious side that the moss and these old intertwined branches gave to this place.
Since we have neither umbrella nor coat, we don't even try to take shelter anymore, our sweaters gently absorb the drops. Despite being at 2000m altitude, once again it's not that cold and so much the better.
There is also normally a viewpoint over the valley which gives this (photos from the site http://www.cameronhighland.net/gunung-brinchang.htm):
We will be entitled to that...
In the moss forest parking lot.
4. BOH Tea Factory
To end this day, head to the tea factory. A well-oiled "machine" since the plantations belong to a single company which therefore brings everyone to the local factory, people admire the view and buy tea as a souvenir...
In the factory there is not much to see, everything is behind glass to leave the workers "in peace". In our case we did not "care" a little we had been able to see the process in Sri Lanka with the explanations.
I would take my last photos of my stay there because I didn't have a charger and the batteries discharged much faster than expected... Luckily I already knew Kuala Lumpur, our next stop, otherwise knowing me I would have been particularly frustrated...
The souvenir shop will attract my wife who will leave with a lot of boxes of tea… unfortunately the bag will be forgotten on the bus when we go to Kuala Lumpur that same evening…
Yes, because the visit ended at the very beginning of the afternoon, we decided to take the bus to Kuala Lumpur the same afternoon. It cost us 70 RM for the 2 of us. and the bus stopped in front of our hotel since it is on the right road.
A little detour through the Cameron Highlands, in your opinion, unmissable? Interesting?
