Cameron Highlands is the most wide-range hill station in Malaysia that also happens to be the smallest district in Pahang and the most renowned hill resort which retains the charm of the English village. It takes up 712 square kilometres (225 square miles) and is located at the northwest corner of Pahang. To the west, it shares a borer with Perak however to its north it has a boundary that touches Kelantan. Cameron Highlands is about 90 kilometres (50 miles) from Ipoh, 200 kilometres (120 miles) from Kuala Lumpur and 355 kilometres (221 miles) from Kuantan which is the capital of Pahang.
There are main districts in Cameron Highlands which are Ringlet (5165 hectares), Tanah Rata (2081 hectares) and Ulu Tenom (633981 hectares). Its eight sub-districts are Ringlet, Tanah Rata (administrative centre), Brinchang, Bertam Valley, Kea Farm, Tringkap, Kuala Terla, and Kampung Raja. All of them are snuggled at the elevations from 1100 metres (3600 ft.) to 1600 metres (5200 ft.) above sea level.
The tableland has a population of more than 38 000 people consisting of Bumiputras, Chinese, Indians, Non-Malaysians and other nationalities. The highland is one of the oldest tourist spots, as it was developed in the 1930s, which has many attractions like the tea estates, hotels, places of worship, bungalows, Land Rovers, museums, its aborigines (Orang Asli), cool weather, orchards, nurseries, farmlands, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, wildlife, the mossy forest, and golf courses.
Cameron Highlands is named after Sir William Cameron who was authorized to map out the Pahang-Perak border in 1885. He indicated in his statement concerning his mapping expedition that he saw a sort of vortex on the mountains, while for a reasonably wide area, it had gentle slopes and plateau land.
In 1925, Sir George Maxwell visited the hill and he decreed it should be a hill station. An agricultural Experimental Station was set up in the highland during the mid 1925s to confirm if cinchona, coffee, tea, vegetables and fruits could be grown. Soon, they confirmed the ability of tea to be grown, which motivated the British to start developing the place.
A development company was sent in 1926 to clear out the moorlands for agriculture, defense, recreation, administration and housing. Later, a 3-year contract was made with Messrs. Fodgen, Brisbane and Company to construct a road from Tapah to the Highlands. The construction started on the 1st of January 1928 and concluded on the 14th of November 1930, which was 47 days ahead of the schedule. The whole construction came up to 3 million dollars. The building of the road was truly challenging as the workers had to cope with the weather and the risk of getting malaria. 500 to 3000 workers were needed for the construction work and throughout these three years, 375 workers were hospitalized with fever. The biggest challenge by far was the haulage of heavy equipment from the lowlands to the upper reaches. This problem was overcome by steam-driven locomotives.
When the roads finally opened in 1931, the British and locals moved to settle on the slopes. It was a retreat for the British from the scorching hot weather. Many tea planter and vegetable growers soon moved to the highlands as they believed the weather would be a good influence for their crops. On the 31st of July 1931, a sub-district was created called Kuala Lipis. By the middle of 1930, there was a significant development in the constituency with cottages, six-hole golf courses, a police post, three inns, military camps, two boarding school, a horse spelling ranch, nurseries, a dairy, tea plantations, vegetable farms, a Government Rest House and an Agricultural Experimental Station.
The province continued to improve until The World War II. During the Japanese occupation (1942-1945) there was not much development, but they saw the farms as a vital food source for their troops. When they withdrew in August 1945, the domain went under transformation that went to a halt during the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960) but continued to develop after it ended and now is the biggest and renowned hill station. It has also come to be the highest point accessible by car.
The mean temperature of the domain is 18 degree Celsius (64 degree Fahrenheit) and it has an annual downpour is more than 2700mm (110 in.). The lowest temperature ever recorded here was on a Wednesday, 1st February 1978 at 7.8 degree Celsius (46.0 degree Fahrenheit) at the altitude 1471.6m (4828 ft.).
In 1958, Cameron Highlands became a reserve for deer and proceeded to become a venue affording protection to animals and birds in 1962. Its wettest months are from October to November and driest from January to February. There are more than 700 species of plants and Cameron Highlands is known for the tea, vegetables and flowers. It serves as a shelter for a variety of animals, reptiles, birds and insects like the mountain peacock-pheasant, Malayan whistling-thrush and Sumatran serow that are threatened species.
It is located on the ‘spine’ of Peninsula Malaysia. There are all together 8 mountains which are Mount Batu Brinchang (2031 m (6663 ft.)), Mount Berembun (1,840 m (6,040 ft.)), Mount Irau (2,091 m (6,860 ft.)), Mount Jasar (1,696 m (5,564 ft.)), Mount Mentigi (1,563 m (5,128 ft.)), Mount Perdah (1,576 m (5,171 ft.)) and Mount Siku (1,916 m (6,286 ft.)) and Mount Swettenham (1,961 m (6,434 ft.)). Mount Batu Brinchang has a radio and television station on its peak built by the British in the 1950s and Mount Swettenham is located at the border with Kelantan. It has eight rivers with three main ones that are, Bertam, Telom and Lemoi.
A total of 71% of Cameron Highlands is still forested. There are many jungle trails with scenic spots, waterfalls and aboriginal villages hidden in this beautiful land.