Visit BOH Tea Plantation Centre in Cameron Highlands

One of the best things we did during our trip to Cameron Highlands was visiting the BOH Tea Plantation Centre. Walking among the endless fields of tea was just so special.

Before setting out on this day trip, we discussed whether we should join one of the many Cameron Highland Tours or just go by ourselves. Eventually, we decided to try and go by ourselves, and it honestly turned into such an adventurous day!

So in this blog post, we’ll show you every step of the way on how you can get to the BOH Tea Plantation by yourself, where to stay in Tanah Rata, what to see in the plantation, and much more!

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About BOH Tea Plantation Centre

If you’ve read some of our other blog posts, then you’ll know that Glenn and I love to explore the biggest, oldest, and tallest things around the world. We’ve for example been to the Petronas Twin Towers, also known as the tallest twin towers in the world.

So when we learned that BOH Tea Plantation is the biggest tea plantation in Malaysia, we naturally had to pay a visit. We even heard from someone that it’s the biggest tea plantation in all of Southeast Asia!

After our visit, we can definitely confirm that BOH Tea Plantation is massive and a total must-visit in the Cameron Highlands region of Malaysia.

BOH Tea was founded by British Archibald Russell back in 1929, which also makes BOH the oldest tea plantation in Malaysia. YES! Two in one. BOH Tea is both the biggest and oldest tea plantation in all of Malaysia.

Today the CEO of BOH Tea is Caroline Russell, who is the granddaughter of the founder Archibald. So it looks like the BOH Tea Plantation has stayed in the Russell family.

You can go to BOH Tea’s Website if you want to know more about the plantation.

Plan your visit to BOH Tea Plantation Centre

In this section, we’ll go through all the necessary steps you need to take, so you can plan your own visit to the incredible BOH Tea Plantation Centre from Kuala Lumpur.

BOH Tea Plantation Opening Hours 2023

The Sungei Palas Tea Garden is open from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM every Tuesday until Sunday.

It’s closed on Mondays, so don’t visit BOH Tea on Monday if you want to taste the delicious tea, go on a factory tour, and see the Sungei Palas viewpoint.

BOH Tea Plantation Entrance Fee 2023

It’s completely free to walk around BOH Tea Plantation, so you don’t have to worry about paying an entrance fee.

From Kuala Lumpur to Cameron Highlands

In order to visit BOH Tea Plantation Centre, you first have to get to the Cameron Highlands. The Cameron Highlands is an area in the state of Pahang in Malaysia, and it can easily be reached from Kuala Lumpur.

There are basically 2 ways to visit BOH Tea from Kuala Lumpur:

1. Book a day tour from Kuala Lumpur to BOH Tea Plantation
2. Book a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Tanah Rata and stay there

We opted for the second choice. So we took a 4-hour bus from Kuala Lumpur to Tanah Rata, which is a small town situated in the Cameron Highlands at 1440 meters above sea level. We booked a few nights in Tanah Rata, so we could explore what Cameron Highlands had to offer in our own slow pace.

I still remember how amazing it felt to step off that bus coming from humid and hot 30+ degrees Celsius in Kuala Lumpur and into cool and brisk 20 degrees in Tanah Rata. We can definitely recommend staying in Cameron Highlands for the cool weather and great hiking opportunities!

Where to stay in Tanah Rata

We booked 3 nights in a guesthouse in Tanah Rata.

Unfortunately, the guesthouse doesn’t exist anymore, so we cannot recommend it for you. Instead, we did some research on Booking.com and found some great accommodation options for you.

Great places to stay in Tanah Rata

• A3 Oastel coLiving: Looking to stay in a cheap place and connect with other travellers? Check out this hostel in the center of Tanah Rata.
• The Rustique Guest House: Want something cheap and local? Then check out this affordable guest house, which has all your basic needs covered and is run by a local in the middle of Tanah Rata.
• Zenith Cameron: Want pure luxury? Stay in a 5-star hotel with a pool in Tanah Rata and enjoy a luxurious time in Cameron Highlands.

How to get from Tanah Rata to BOH Tea Centre

Last time we visited the BOH Tea Plantation Centre, we took the public bus from Tanah Rata, got off at the bus stop closest to BOH, and walked the remaining 3 kilometres to the plantation. This was seen as the budget travelers way to reach BOH Tea as we only spend 8 RM per person for a round trip with the bus.

Sadly, the public bus from Tanah Rata to BOH Tea Plantation doesn’t run anymore. So you’ll have to either drive yourself, go on a tour, or take a taxi. We’ll go through options steps below.

By car & motorbike

The easiest way to get from Tanah Rata to BOH Tea Plantation Centre is to drive yourself. You can either rent a car or a motorbike in the city, but please notice that the roads in Cameron Highlands can be narrow, steep, and very curvy.

So only choose this option if you’re a confident driver.

By group tour

Another way to visit BOH Tea is to join one of the many tours from Tanah Rata. We suggest that you just ask your accommodation where to find the best tour and choose this one.

The only downside is that you often have no say in how long you can stay at BOH Tea since you have to follow a group. The good thing about joining a tour is that you often get to see other things on the way like the strawberry farm.

By taxi

The last way to visit BOH Tea Plantation is to get a taxi from Tanah Rata.

The taxis vary in price, but you can expect to pay in between 30-40 RM for a one-way trip to BOH Tea. The best way to get a good quote is to ask your accommodation if they know any taxi drivers that are willing to give you a good price.

Also check the App named Grab (it’s just like Uber), they should operate in the Cameron Highlands.

Going by taxi is especially a good idea if you are a few people that can split the cost.

Our experience at BOH Tea Plantation Centre

By now, you should be ready to go explore the BOH Tea Centre by yourself. However, before we finish this travel guide, we want to share our experience of the place.

Hiking from the bus to BOH Tea Plantation

2023 update: As mentioned earlier, we visited BOH Tea back when the public bus was still running. So we begin our story at the bus stop closest to the BOH Tea Centre.

It was easy to find the way from the bus stop to BOH Tea Centre. We saw a big sign that said “BOH” and just followed it up that road. It’s a one-way road so you would have to try really hard to get lost.

We had to share the road with the cars. However, the road ends at BOH which means that all the cars are full of tourists going to the plantation. They drive slow because they want to take in the beautiful scenery and the road also has many curves that slow down the cars.

So we honestly didn’t find it intimidating to walk on the road, but some people might not like sharing the road with cars. Luckily taxis are often driving by the bus stop, so it’s also possible to grab a taxi for the remaining kilometres to BOH.

Glenn and I absolutely love hiking, so we didn’t mind the walk to BOH. The first 1,5 kilometers were a bit boring but the last 1,5 kilometers were just stunning!

The scenery you get on the way is just spectacular! Imagine the biggest tea plantation in Malaysia, just stretching over the hills as far as you can see.

Since we were walking we could just stop whenever we wanted to take pictures. So we did.

Sungei Palas BOH Tea viewpoint & garden

After hiking the last 1,5 kilometers next to all the tea plants, we arrived at the Sungei Palas Tea Garden, which is where you’ll find an incredible viewpoint over the BOH Tea Plantation. Here you can buy a … wait for it … cup of tea. Surprise!

The viewpoint is so pretty, but it’s very crowded.

In our opinion, we had equally beautiful views on our hike from the bus stop. But since most people arrived at BOH and Sungei Palas in cars, it was their first view of the tea-covered hills of the day, which wasn’t seen from behind the window of a car.

Naturally, everybody wanted the best picture, so there was a bit of a pushy crowd at the viewpoint.

Get in line for a cup of tea

We’re not going to lie. This place is probably the most popular place in all of Cameron Highlands, so expect big crowds.

I got in a very long line to buy a cup of tea at the BOH Tea Centre where they have a small café. And it will probably be the last time in my life that I stand in such a long line for a cup of tea. My apologies to all tea lovers out there – this girl is a coffee drinker.

Anyways, Glenn got a table at the Sungei Palas Viewpoint Terrace while I grabbed our tea. Great teamwork.

Glenn had a classic Teh Tarik, which is a popular milk tea in Malaysia. I had a green tea. We both have to admit the tea was fantastic! So if you ever make it to BOH Tea Plantation Centre, make sure to get in the line for a cup of tea. It’s worth it.

Free Tea Factory Tour

After finishing our tea, we had a look around and saw that BOH offers a free tea factory tour. Who can say no to that?

We did the “tour”, which is a big word for a 5-minute walk through a few rooms. However, we did learn a lot in those 5 minutes about how tea is made, and since it’s free, we 100% recommend it!

Just know that for some reason you are not allowed to take pictures. They are very strict about it, and they constantly look at where your camera is placed on your body.

We unfortunately don’t have any pictures from us drinking tea, from Sungei Palas Viewpoint, or from the tea factory tour. Instead here are some pictures of the hard workers in the tea plantation. Respect!

Returning to Tanah Rata

This is the part of our day where things started to go wrong. We had had such an amazing day at the BOH Tea Plantation, so after a few hours, we decided it was time to head back to Tanah Rata.

First we did the 3-kilometre hike back to the bus stop. Easy peasy!

By the bus stop, we found some food and asked a local when the bus would leave towards Tanah Rata. We were told we about half an hour, which was plenty of time to have something to eat.

But then… Back at the bus stop with 10 minutes to spare, a friendly local told us that the bus had just left. So we would have to wait 60 minutes for the next one.

Luckily for us, just behind the bus stop, was some sort of carnival for kids. Being the big children we are, Glenn and I started to play all these games while we waited for the bus.

We actually had a lot of fun, and went back to the bus stop before the hour was up.

But then… Some other friendly local told us it had just passed.

How could we miss it again!

We had to wait yet another hour.

Looking back, I now see that we should have just grabbed a taxi back to Tanah Rata. We ended up spending the same amount of money in the carnival as a taxi would’ve cost us. We aren’t always the smartest people, but we do have fun!

After waiting around for 2+ hours, we finally got the bus back to Tanah Rata. While it’s said that the bus isn’t running anymore (2023 update), we do feel that it wasn’t very consistent, so maybe a taxi just is the better choice.

While we lost more than 2 hours on waiting, we still decided to go and celebrate a more or less successful day of exploring BOH Tea Plantation with a delicious garlic naan and tandoori chicken. Have you had Indian food in Malaysia? It’s amazing!

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We really hope you enjoyed this blog post and how-to-guide about visiting BOH Tea Plantation Centre. We have the greatest memories from our day here and hope that we get to visit Cameron Highlands some time again in the future.

Let me know if you have any questions about how to get to BOH Tea Plantation by yourself – just leave a comment below. Thank you so much for reading and happy travels!

Other blog posts from Malaysia:

• Things to do in Pangkor Island
• Visit Petronas Twin Towers