GARDEN AND NATURE PLACE AT CAMERON HIGHLANDS

ROSE CENTER

The Rose Center is a flower garden in Kea Farm, about 3km away from Brinchang town. Visitors can reach this tourist attraction by following the road that leads through Kea Farm Market, right until you see the Rose Center at the side of the road. Walking up the steps, visitors will pass through gardens perched along the slopes of the small hill. Near the top, another pathway leads to a hill peak with views of the surrounding landscapes and vegetable fams. The Rose Center also retails baby plants, cactus and gardening materials at a small shop near the ticket counter. Tickets in are priced RM5 for adults and RM2 for children. It's open daily from 8am to 6pm.

CACTUS VALLEY

The Cactus Valley is the combination of a large garden, farm and nursery; a tourist attraction that highlights not just cactus plants, but Cameron Highland's agricultural and botanical industry. Perched on a hill overlooking Brinchang town, the park can be reached quicky on foot. From the main road, turn left when you see Star Regency Resort, which is just before the Brinchang night market site (opposite police station). Follow the road until you see the signboard at right to Cactus Valley; a quick but steep uphill climb later and the entrance will greet you. Open daily from 8am to 6pm, tickets are RM4 per adult and RM2 for children.

GUNUNG BRINCHANG

Gunung Brinchang is the second highest mountain in Cameron Highlands after Gunung Irau, at 2000 meters high. The highest tarmac road in Malaysia leads up to the top, but its condition is often haphazard (especially the later portion), due to the copious amounts of rain and moisture. When not assailed by heavy mist, the watchtower at the peak provides an incredible view of towns, valleys and mountains stretching towards the horizon. This makes Gunung Brinchang a popular viewpoint for visitors to admire the scenery and landscapes of Cameron Highlands. The fabled mossy forest also grows at its highest elevations, with a boardwalk to explore this fascinating biotope.

The narrow access road begins at a left turning along the main road, if travelling down the slope from Kea Farm, immediately after the Butterfly Garden (which will be at right). Next, follow the road for 2km until you reach the Sungai Palas Boh Tea Plantation junction. Turn left (right goes to the tea estate) and you will soon be on a rough road that oscillates between tarmac and gravel for 7km. Along the way, visitors may chance upon avid birdwatchers combing the surrounding rainforest for birds to photograph. The route steeply ascends at the second half (here, t is common to smell the noxious fumes of cars coming from opposite direction, overheating their poorly-serviced brakes as they return downhill) before reaching a ridgetop for the last 2km, culminating at the peak where a series of telecommunication towers perch.

Alternatively, visitors can also hike up Gunung Brinchang through a jungle trail that starts near Brinchang town; turn left along the main road after the police station into a small route that leads to a small settlement (actually an army quarters). Look for a signboard that indicates the start of jungle walk No 1, enter the forest, and you'll soon be on the 3km trail that leads up to the peak. The hike is actually quite easy for moderately fit people and the trail marked by ribbons and red markings on trees. If the trail seems to end abruptly, look carefully; the continuation is often a small path you just missed along the hill slope, obscured by dense foliage or a near-vertical climb across tree trunks that makes it hard to notice. For the best views, visit the peak when the mist clears, usually in the early afternoons or early dusk. 

LATA ISKANDAR WATERFALL

Lata Iskandar is a waterfall located along the road from Tapah to Cameron Highlands, about 25km before Ringlet. The waterfall cascades over several tiers of granite slopes, with the last drop at 25 meters high flowing into a small pool below, before resuming its journey as a narrow stream. On weekends, the waterfall is overun by tourists and local visitors, who congregate tightly under the cold shower of the falls, or perch themselves for photos along its rocky ledges. Ramshackle shops and stalls, nestled along the main road facing Lata Iskandar, provide shopping opportunities for ethnic souvenirs, tribal handicrafts, strange herbs, tropical fruits and even aphrodisiacs.

MOSSY FOREST

The mossy forest is a natural environment that grows only at the highest elevations of Cameron Highlands and other mountain ranges across Malaysia. At such heights, low-level clouds in the sky, driven by winds, blanket the forests with constant mist and moisture, creating an ideal biotope for moss, ferns, lichen and orchids. This moist tropical evergreen forest is also a rich repository for a unique set of montane creatures, encompassing insects, snakes, frogs, birds and mammals - that thrive nowhere else but in this chilly atmosphere. Visitors can explore the mossy forest through a boardwalk that begins 2km before the peak of Gunung Brinchang.

The series of wooden platforms winds for about 150m through the mossy forest, but is slippery and missing a few planks. Tread carefully as you explore this strange environment, filled with oak trees with stunted stumps, wrinkled leaves and gnarled branches that clump together, forming dense crowns that portrude furiously from the ground like mushrooms. As you turn around, look at the rich layers of moss that drape the tree trunks and butteresses, infusing them with a soft, green appearance. Meanwhile, vines, orchids, pitcher plants and other fascinating epiphytes hang loosely from the canopy, perched silently on branches and stems in this chillingly quiet labyrinth. Venturing below the boardwalk to step on the forest floor, visitors will soon discover its moist peat-like texture, each step leaving deep water-filled imprints on the soil. At the end of the walk, a trail starts towards Gunung Irau, the highest mountain in Cameron Highlands.

KUALA WOH 

Kuala Woh is a recreational forest park at the foothills of Cameron Highlands, located about 12km from Tapah town along the trunk road to Ringlet. A large but mostly shallow river flows through the park, with a subterranean hot spring that heats up a small section of the sandy river bed. A popular spot during weekends, some of the activities include camping, nature walks and swimming. As the park lies hidden by thick rainforest, there are less visitors aware of its existence, allowing it retain a mostly peaceful environment. Entrance to Kuala Woh is free and accommodation facilities are available in the form of jungle chalets and camping grounds.