I've never done Cameron Highlands before. So, as part of the familiarization course, I decided to drive up to Tapah, to climb up to Brinchang.
The drive from KL took almost 2.5 hours. When I exited towards Tapah from the highway, it was drizzling lightly. I was thinking of actually not doing it. After some thoughts, I thought as long as it's not pouring cats & dogs, it's doable.
Parked at Kg Pahang, and started the long climb at 9:41am. At first it's a bit of flats. Then it gradually build up into an ever winding, twisty turning road, with an elevation steepness that doesn't wary much. Except for the few last km to Ringlet.
Now, I've brought a powerbar for this excursion. But when I stopped to consume it, it was actually already very old, apparently from the broken plastic cover. But being so famished from all the climbs, I took 2 bites. Then decided it's too unpalatable and threw it away.
Luckily Ringlet wasn't far. So I stopped for a hearty lunch and some drinks.
It was a bit cold as well. And I didn't actually know what the elevation was at this point.
Now Ringlet is a nice small town, and the roads aren't that steep either. I enjoyed the flats for a few km, before another long winding uphill road towards Tanah Rata. After that it's another few km to Brinchang and it's all done.
Total time up is 3:55 plus rest. Distance is 61km. So if you start from Tapah, it would be around 65km.
Then I proceeded the long trip downhill. I thought things would be great as it's mainly a downhill course. How wrong it was, when I was stuck to a fast-slow traffic headed by a bus which had to slow down to a halt while negotiating sharp turns. I couldn't find the room for overtaking as well, cause the road is terribly small without any extra emergency lane at the side.
On the way back, I met with Alan Tan, who had an unfortunate car broke down in their treasure hunt event.
After around 7 hours, I managed to reach back safely.
2 comments:
I understand that one can ascend from Simpang Pulai to Cameron Highlands and descend to Tapah as one continuous loop. My inquiry is how do I ride back to Simpang Pulai from Tapah since I plan to park my car at Simpang Pulai. I.e. Is there a kampung / trunk road that connects the two towns? Thanks.
hi john,
Ok basically from Tapah, you can ride northwards using trunk road. I think that's like 40-50km flat...
Post a Comment