Trails in the Cameron Highlands.
The Cameron Highlands is great walking country although many of the longer trail were closed in the 1970's when the army found secret food dumps for the Communist Party of Malaya,(CPM) which used the Main Range as its insurgency route from its bases near Betong in South Thailand. Despite the CPM calling a halt to hostilities in 1990, the trails have not been re-opened. There are however a handful of not so strenuous mountains to climb and a number of jungle walks. Cameronian trails are a great place for people unfamiliar with jungle walks. They are also very beautiful.
Basic sketch maps of trails, with numbered routes are available at the Tourist information kiosk in Tanah Rata and from most hotels. Walkers are advised to take plenty of water with them as well as a lighter, compass, something warm and a few supplies like food and a parang and a good map wouldn't go amiss either. It is very easy to lose your way in jungle and the district officer has had to call out Orang Asli trackers on many occasions over the years to hunt down disoriented hikers. ALWAYS make sure someone knows roughly where you are going and your estimated time of return.
There is a centuries old Orang Asli trail leading from Tanjung Rambutan, near Ipoh, up the Kinta River into the Main Range. One branch of this trail goes N to the summit of Gunung Korba (2,183m), 16km away. When William Cameron and his warrior companion Kulop Riau left of their elephant back expedition into the mountains, they followed the Kinta River to its source, and from the summit of Gunung Calli , saw Blue Valley Plateau. Camerons view of the plateau that would later bear his name was obscured by two big mountains, Irau ( the roller coaster shaped one) and Brinchang.
At 2,032m, Gunung Brinchang is the Highlands highest peak and the highest point in Malaysia accessible by road. The area around the communications center on the summit offers a great panorama of the plateau, although it spends most of its life shrouded in cloud. the road up the mountain veers left in the middle Boh's Sungei Palas tea estate past km 73. From the top of Brinchang it is possible to see straight down into the Kinta Valley, on the other side. Ipoh is only 15km away as the hornbill flies. There is an old and rarely used trail up Gunung Brinchang from the back of the old airstrip (behind the army flats) at the top of Brinchang town.
Gunung Beremban (1,840m) makes a pleasant hike, although its trails are well worn. It can be reached from Tanah Rata (trail No 7 goes up through the experimental tea in the MARDI station past the padang off Jalan Persiaran Dayang Endah), Brinchang (trail No 2 leads up from behind the Sam Poh Buddhist temple, a more arduous route), or the golf course (follow trail No 3 past the Arcadia bungalow where the road stops) this is the easiest. Allow 4 hours to get up and down. there is a good view down Tanah Ratas main street from the top. it is also possible to climb Gunung Beremban from Robinson's Falls (trail No 8 leads off Trail No 9). The trail leading from the latter is from the bottom of the road leading past MARDI from Tanah Rata.
Gunong Jasra (1,696m) between the golf course and Tanah Rata, is a pleasant but gentler walk of about 3 hours (trail No 10). The trail goes from half way along the old back road to Tanah Rata near the meteorological station (the road Jalan Titiwanga leaves Tanah rata from behind a hotel (S of town). The Jasar trail also forks of to Bukit Perdah (trail No 12 Which branches off the Jasra trail) 2-3 hours to the top and back. The path down from the summit comes out on a road leading back into the top end of Tanah Rata.
The trails to Robinson Falls (trail No 9, 1 Hour walk) and Parit Falls (tail No 4, 30 min. walk) are more frequently trampled. The trail branches off to No 9a which leads down to the Boh tea estate road near ringlet Lake. The walk to the Boh tea estate is a long one, but it is possible to hitch a lift along the road or catch a bus (great views when you get there). Tours leave every hour. The estate is closed Mondays and closes at 17.00 hours on other days, the last bus leaves the factory at 17.30. The short trail to Parit Falls starts behind the garden Hotel and mosque on the far side of Tanah Rata's padang and ends up below the Slim Army Camp. Parit Falls is a small waterfall in between the two, with what was once a beautiful jungle pool before it became cluttered with day trippers and their rubbish.
There are hundreds of trails leading through the Camerons, traversing ridges and leading to almost every hill and mountain. Most are Orang Asli paths, some date from the Japanese occupation in WW2 (these are marked by barbed wire and some aren't really trails at all- beware!
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