Map - Cameron Highlands (Cameron Highlands)

The Cameron Highlands (Tanah Tinggi Cameron,, கேமரன் மலை) is a district in Pahang, Malaysia, occupying an area of 712.18 km2. To the north, its boundary touches that of Kelantan; to the west, it shares part of its border with Perak. Situated at the northwestern tip of Pahang, Cameron Highlands is approximately 90 km east from Ipoh, roughly 200 km north from Kuala Lumpur or about 355 km from Kuantan, the capital of Pahang. It is the smallest municipality in the state.

Surveyed by the government geologist and explorer William Cameron in 1885, the outpost consists of three mukims (subdistricts), namely Ringlet, Tanah Rata and Ulu Telom. Its eight settlements are Ringlet, Tanah Rata (the administrative centre), Brinchang, the Bertam Valley, Kea Farm, Tringkap, Kampung Kuala Terla, Kampung Raja and Blue Valley. All are nestled at elevations ranging from 800 m to 1603 m above sea level.

Developed in the 1930s, the tableland is one of the oldest tourist spots in Malaysia. Apart from its tea estates, the plateau is noted for its cool weather, orchards, nurseries, farmlands, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, wildlife, mossy forest, golf course, hotels, places of worship, bungalows, Land Rovers, museum and native inhabitants (Orang Asli).

The Cameron Highlands were named after William Cameron, a British explorer and geologist who was commissioned by the then colonial government to map out the Pahang-Perak border area in 1885.

In a statement concerning his mapping expedition, Cameron mentioned he saw "a sort of vortex on the mountains, while for a (reasonably) wide area we have gentle slopes and plateau land." When approached, Sir Hugh Low, the Resident of Perak (1887–1889), expressed the wish of developing the region into a "sanatorium, health resort and open farmland." A narrow path to Cameron Highlands was then carved through the jungle. Nothing much happened after that.

Forty years later, the tableland was given another review when Sir George Maxwell (1871–1959) visited the locale to see if it could be turned into a resort. He spent about nine days surveying the territory. Maxwell described the terrain as being "somewhat oval in shape on his return from the highlands." After comparing it with Nuwara Eliya in Sri Lanka and Baguio in the Philippines, he decreed that the site should be developed into a hill station.

In mid-1925, an Agricultural Experiment Station was set up to confirm if cinchona, tea, coffee, fruits and vegetables could be grown at the district. In December 1925, a superintendent was appointed to supervise the 200-acre (81-ha) plantation on Mount Beremban. While research at the station was being carried out, the colonial office assigned Captain C.C. Best, a surveyor from the Federated Malay States to trace the Telom River (Malay: Sungei Telom). The Annual Report of the Survey Department (1925) states he explored "the Ulu of the Telom which was the actual area traversed by Cameron" and "he went first to what is known as Cameron Highlands to obtain a basis of comparison and from there crossed over into the Telom Valley. He made a reconnaissance map of the headwaters of the Telom and his exploration has established definitely that the area at the Ulu of the Bertang (Bertam?) is incomparably the most suitable for development." This report, coupled with the confirmation that tea could also be grown, gave the British the motivation to develop the place.

In 1926, a development committee was formed to zone off the moorlands agriculture, defense, administration, housing, and recreation. Later, a three-million-dollar road was constructed from Tapah to the highlands. It started from the 19th mile Tapah-Pahang Road and ended at Ginting "B" (Tanah Rata). The three-year contract was awarded to Messrs. Fogden, Brisbane and Company. The first installment of $250,000 was made in 1926. The project commenced on 1 January 1928; it was completed on Friday, 14 November 1930 – 47 days ahead of schedule. The building of the road was a challenge: the crew not only had to deal with the weather; they also had to cope with the risk of being struck down with malaria. The manning level varied from 500 to 3,000 workers during the construction stage. Throughout the contract, 375 employees were hospitalized for fever. The biggest problem faced by the contractor was the haulage of heavy equipment from the lowlands to the upper reaches. This setback was overcome with the use of steam-driven locomotives which were designed for work on steep gradients.

When the road was opened in 1931, the British and the locals moved in to settle on the slopes of the mountain. They were soon followed by tea planters and vegetable growers who found the climate to be suitable for the growth of their crops. On 1 July 1931, Cameron Highlands was made an autonomous sub-district under Kuala Lipis, with its own Deputy District Officer subordinate to the Lipis District Officer. By the mid-1930s, there was a notable improvement in the constituency: it now had a six-hole golf course, several cottages, three inns, a police post, two boarding schools, a military camp, a dairy, a horse spelling ranch, nurseries, vegetable farms, tea plantations, a Government Rest House and an Agricultural Experiment Station. The domain continued to grow until the outbreak of the Second World War. During the Japanese Occupation of the Malay Peninsula (1942–1945), there was hardly any development in the area. When the Japanese withdrew in August 1945, the place transformed. This, however, came to a halt during the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960). When the conflict ended, Cameron Highlands" experienced a constant change in its landscape. Today, the haven is not only the biggest and best known of Malaysia's hill stations; it is also the highest point in Peninsular Malaysia accessible by car.