Tea plantations

The cool highlands of the Peninsular Malaysia are adored for sprawling tea plantations, strawberry farms and misty forest. You can go picking your own strawberries or sipping tea from a terrace overlooking the rolling hills checked by vibrant green tea bushes. The jungle-covered slopes are traversed by walking trails, which pass waterfalls and bring you to the peaks of the surrounding mountains. Keep in mind though, that Cameron Highlands have been on the local tourist map for a long time and are now even in Starbucks territory, so things can get crowded in high season and on weekends. The many concrete hotels built in imitated colonial-chalet style only add to the tacky factor that locals seem so fond of. If you come at the right time (normally between October and January), there is even a chance to see a flowering Rafflesia (Rafflesia kerrii), the world's biggest flower.

This cool little hill town on the southern edge of Sri Lanka's hill country has some of the most magnificent views. On a cloud-and-mist-free day, the coastal plain will open up 1000 m below with the Indian Ocean in the distance. Besides cloud forest, waterfalls, and small peaks with splendid panoramas, the hills are covered in neatly picked tea plantations looking like a thick green carpet. Here you have a great opportunity to get close to the "oh so" famous Ceylon tea and the pickers, who are usually very friendly.