From Ipoh a new road winds upward into the Cameron Highlands, reaching an elevation of 1500 m in about 100 km. There is essentially one road looping through the highlands with some short, very narrow roads, more like long lanes, running off it. It's not really a place to re-acquaint oneself with the natural world (even the "jungle treks" are short and touristy) but it is a few degrees cooler. There is fairly intensive vegetable cultivation, often hydroponic under opaque plastic sheets to
reduce the sun's heat, like a greenhouse without walls. We visited Cactus Valley ($1 admission), calling itself a farm but actually a large nursery, with a lot of flowers and vegetables as well as cacti. Then to the Boh Tea plantation, 3 km along a very narrow sideroad. Here it might have been possible to have a pleasant walk in the early morning, as I had imagined, but in general the region is densely populated, with unpretty hotels and apartment buildings, and fairly heavy traffic. Mind
you, they say it's much worse on weekends.