Shopping

Cameron Highlands

What to Do ~ Shopping

Cameron Highlands is a popular shopping destination for souvenirs, handicrafts, agricultural products and floral ornaments that are sold in shops around Tanah Rata and Brinchang Town. Clothes, handicrafts and souvenirs are popular items for tourists while local visitors prefer flowers, vegetables, plants and tea. Visitors spending their first Cameron Highlands holiday can buy unique souvenirs that reflect the natural heritage of Cameron Highlands, such as preserved insects, wooden handicrafts and rattan baskets.

These products serve as excellent mementos or gifts to friends back home. Select from a wide range of memorabilia that are sold in the shops which include T-shirts, engraved carvings, lighters, pens and other items. Tourists and visitors should remember to bargain to get the best deals and value for goods. The butterfly parks are also good places for such souvenirs as both Butterfly Garden and Butterfly Farm have a shop each dedicated to traditional handicrafts and fashion clothing.

Their range of insect dioramas or preserved insects housed in a picture frame or encased within a key chain is fantastic and make for a good decoration to adorn your house wall. You can also purchase traditional products made by the Orang Asli such as rattan baskets, blow pipes, bird whistles and woven mats. Other items of interest include jewellery and accessories. The main tea plantations are also good places if you're looking for tea to bring home. Boh Tea in Brinchang and Cameron Valley in Tanah Rata both stock an amazing array of tea in different flavours and packed in bags, cans and even wrapped as convenient gifts.

Kea Farm
There are a few main open air markets in Cameron Highlands where you can shop to your heart's delight for vegetables, fruits and delicious snacks. A market takes place daily in the Kea Farm, located around 2 km away from Brinchang town where the Equatorial resort is. Open from early morning till the late evening, this is where you can purchase freshly plucked vegetables, strawberries, sweet corn and other delicious greens.

Multi Crops Central Market
Another fantastic market, housed in a covered complex, is the Multi Crops Central Market just after Brinchang Town. The complex is not really a market, but more of a landscaped garden filled with an array of plants, cacti, flowers, handicrafts and souvenirs that you can purchase. There is also a cafe inside with tables situated strategically around the garden so you can have a peaceful afternoon tea.

Brinchang Night Market
On the other hand, Brinchang town plays host to a ‘Pasar Malam' or night market just opposite the police station on Friday and Saturday nights. Traders will start setting up their stalls in the early evening and business becomes brisk during the night. The Pasar Malam is a colourful sight as you can find all sorts of food and items on sale from greens, strawberries and corn to electronic gadgets and delicious snacks such as cakes, fried food and jelly to bootleg clothing, shoes and bags.

Farms
Farms are numerous in Cameron Highlands, from Ringlet all the way to Kampung Raja, farmers grow perennial flowers, green vegetables, corn stalks, cactus and strawberries. Most of the tourist-based farms are located alongside the main road from Ringlet to Kampung Raja, and it's not possible to miss them as they have huge signboards erected and you can see the whole farm by the road as well. These farms are open for visits from tourists and tend to have a shop that retails their products.

There are also more secluded farms nestled deeper within the valleys that are accessed by narrow roads with major potholes. These farms require a 4-wheel vehicle to reach, and most of them are actually not opened for commercial visitors, being dedicated to the export market. However, if you get the chance to visit any of them, you'll practically have the whole place to yourself and your family!

Strawberry farms are the primary attraction with hundreds of people flooding these farms on weekends. Visitors can explore the way strawberries are cultivated as well as pluck their own, which will be weighted and charged accordingly. They can also purchase other edible products direct from the farms made from Strawberries, such as jam, cakes, tarts, desiccated snacks and other delicious things.

Another popular type of farm for locals, tourists and visitors is the flower or cactus nursery. These nurseries stock a wide range of local and exotic shrubs, flowers, ferns, miniature trees and cacti. Visitors can admire the wide range of colours and purchase plants for their home garden. Most of the nurseries also have shops that sell strawberry products, seeds, drinks and even snacks made from cactus!