Malaysia Federal Route 59

Federal Route 59, or Jalan Tapah–Cameron Highlands, is a 90 km federal road in Perak and Pahang state, Malaysia. It was the main route to Cameron Highlands, Pahang from Tapah, Perak, before the second route Second East–West Highway was built in 2001.

Federal Route 59
Jalan Tapah–Cameron Highlands
Route information
Length	89.85 km (55.83 mi)
Existed	1920s–present
Major junctions
North end	Cameron Highlands, Pahang
Major intersections	FT 1 Federal Route 1 North–South Expressway Northern Route AH2 North–South Expressway Northern Route FT 102 Ringlet–Sungai Koyan Highway C162 Jalan BOH FT 434 Jalan Girdle FT 432 Jalan Gunung Brinchang C7 Jalan Kampung Parit FT 185 Second East–West Highway
South end	Tapah, Perak
Location
Country	Malaysia
Primary destinations	Brinchang Tanah Rata Ringlet Kea Farm Tringkap Kuala Terla
Highway system
Highways in Malaysia Expressways Federal State

Route background

The Kilometre Zero of the Federal Route 59 is located at Tapah, Perak, at its interchange with the Federal Route 1, the main trunk road of the centre of Peninsular Malaysia. The Kilometre Zero monument is erected near the Pos Malaysia post office at Jalan Stesen, Tapah.

History

The Cameron Highlands were explored in 1885 by William Cameron, a British surveyor. The trail used by Cameron remained unchanged until the 1920s when the British colonial Federated Malay States (FMS) government upgrades from trail road to a two-lane road.

Along the road, there are many scenic views and tourist attractions. Due to the increase in the number of tourists to Cameron Highlands in recent years and with virtually no upgrades to the existing road, traffic congestion occurs daily, sometimes up to 5 hours, particularly from Tanah Rata to Kea Farm. A large reason for the increase in traffic congestion can be attributed to the relatively single lane narrow road leading to the Sungei Palas BOH Tea Factory and Tea Garden, where cars have to adopt a stop-and-go method to avoid collisions.

Features

• Narrow roads (JKR R3 (mountainous)) standard for the most section with a maximum speed limit of 40 km/h)
• Kuala Woh waterfall
• Orang Asli villages
• Kuala Woh and Lata Iskandar waterfalls
• A daily day-night market at Brinchang town and Kea Farm but has been moved to Golden Hills and operates during the weekends only
• Connects to Federal Route 432 Jalan Gunung Brinchang, the highest paved road in Malaysia.
• Tapah Interchange, a major interchange of the North–South Expressway Northern Route

At most sections, the Federal Route 59 was built under the JKR R5 road standard, allowing maximum speed limit of up to 90 km/h.

Upgrading from Tapah to Cameron Highlands

A multi-million ringgit project to widen and upgrade the road from Tapah to the highlands has been proposed. Motorists prefer to use the road from Simpang Pulai in Ipoh rather than the winding road up from Tapah. The 40 km stretch from Kampung Pahang here is regularly used by lorries carrying vegetables from the highlands to the rest of the country and Singapore. During peak days, the road is heavily congested. Motorists dread driving along the road, especially during the rainy season, as it is landslide-prone.

List of junctions and towns

Km	Exit	Junctions	To	Remarks
FT 59 0		Tapah	North FT 1 Ipoh FT 1 Gopeng FT 1 Kampar Hospital Tapah South FT 1 Bidor FT 1 Slim River FT 1 Tanjung Malim FT 1 Kuala Lumpur A10 Tapah Road A16 Chikus FT 109 Pasir Salak FT 58 Teluk Intan	Junctions
		Tapah Taman Tapah	South Jalan Taman Tapah Taman Tapah	T-junctions
		Tapah Taman Anson	Northwest Jalan Taman Anson Taman Anson	T-junctions
		Tapah-NSE	North–South Expressway Northern Route AH2 North–South Expressway Northern Route North Alor Star Ipoh Gopeng South Kuala Lumpur Tanjung Malim Bidor Tapah Rest and Service Area	T-junctions
		Kampung Pahang 71m above sea level
		Kem Tapah Tapah Royal Malay Regiment Camp
		Sekolah Menengah Sains Tapah (SESTA)
		Jalan Sungai Cherok	Southeast A103 Jalan Sungai Cherok Sungai Cherok	T-junctions
		Kampung Batu Tiga 80m above sea level
		Sungai Cherok bridge 89m above sea level
		Kampung Batu Melintang 120m above sea level
		Kampung Batu Enam 139m above sea level
		Pusat Ternakan Ikan Air Tawar Tapah 145m above sea level
		Kuala Woh166m above sea level	East Jalan Kuala Woh Kuala Woh Kuala Woh Waterfalls Sultan Idris Woh Dam and Hydroelectric Station	T-junctions
		Sungai Woh bridge
		--- m above sea level		Start/End of narrow roads Max speed limit: 40 km/h
		Kampung Batu Tujuh 166m above sea level
		Kampung Batu Lapan 216m above sea level
		Kampung Batu Sembilan 250m above sea level
		Kampung Batu Sepuluh 309m above sea level
		Kampung Batu Sebelas 356m above sea level
		Orang Asli Village 391m above sea level
		Kampung Batu Empat Belas 432m above sea level
		Lata Iskandar Waterfalls 473m above sea level	Lata Iskandar Waterfalls V Food and fruit stall
		Orang Asli Village 516m above sea level
		Orang Asli Village 509m above sea level
		Sultan Yusoff Jor Dam and Hydroelectric Station 529m above sea level	Sultan Yusoff Jor Dam and Hydroelectric Station Main Hydroelectric Dam Kelab Golf Empangan Jor (Sultan Yusoff Jor Dam Golf Course)	T-junctions Restricted area
		Klinik Kesihatan Batu Tujuh Belas 544m above sea level
		Orang Asli Village 562m above sea level
		Kampung Batu Tujuh Belas 564m above sea level
		Sungai Jor bridge610m above sea level
		Sultan Yusoff Jor Dam and Hydroelectric Station 610m above sea level	Sultan Yusoff Jor Dam and Hydroelectric Station Main Intake Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Staff Quarters	T-junctions Restricted area
		Orang Asli Village 650m above sea level
		Viaduct --- m above sea level
		Orang Asli Village 724m above sea level
		Orang Asli Village 775m above sea level
		Orang Asli Village 872m above sea level
Perak Darul Ridzuan Batang Padang district border Tapah sub-district border
Perak–Pahang border 1200 m above sea level
Pahang Darul Makmur Cameron Highlands district border Ringlet sub-district border
Cameron Highlands
		1200 m above sea level		Start/End of narrow roads Max speed limit: 40 km/h
		Ringlet 1127m above sea level
		Ringlet Ringlet–Sungai Koyan Highway 1131m above sea level	East FT 102 Ringlet–Sungai Koyan Highway FT 102 Bertam Valley FT 102 Sungai Koyan FT 8 Kuala Lipis FT 8 Raub East Coast Expressway FT 2 Kuantan	T-junction
		Ringlet 1134m above sea level
		Sungai Khazanah bridge 1117m above sea level
		SK Ringlet & SMK Ringlet 1111m above sea level
		V Sultan Abu Bakar Dam --- m above sea level	V
		Lakehouse Hotel 1117m above sea level
		V Sultan Abu Bakar Dam Rest and Service Area --- m above sea level	V Food and Fruit Stalls
		Sungai Bertam bridge 1103m above sea level
		Habu Habu Heights 1105 m above sea level	East Jalan Felicia Habu Heights	T-junction
		Habu 1102m above sea level	East C162 Jalan BOH Boh Tea Estate BOH Tea Factory Visitor Centre, Tea Shop and Stall V	T-junction
		Habu Habu power station 1121m above sea level
		Food and Fruit Stalls 1158m above sea level	V Food and Fruit Stalls
		Kampung Batu 33 1174m above sea level
Ringlet-Tanah Rata sub-district border 1387 m above sea level
		V Cameron Valley Tea House 1 1279m above sea level	Cameron Bharat Tea Estate Tea Shop and Stall V
		V Cameron Valley Tea House 2 1327m above sea level	Cameron Bharat Tea Estate Tea Shop and Stall V
		Jalan Mentiggi Utama 1460m above sea level
		Tanah Rata 1463m above sea level
		Tanah Rata 1464m above sea level	Cameron Highlands Post Office	Post office opened on 1956. Historical site
		Tanah Rata 1465m above sea level	Cameron Highlands Bus and Taxi Station
		Tanah Rata Jalan Dayang Indah 1457m above sea level	Southeast Jalan Dayang Indah Robinson Falls Majlis Daerah Cameron Highlands (MDCH) main headquarters Cameron Highlands District and Land Office Hospital Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom	T-junctions
		Tanah Rata Jalan Tengkolok 1457m above sea level	North Jalan Tengkolok	T-junctions
		Tanah Rata Jalan Masjid 1457m above sea level	East Jalan Masjid Tanah Rata Park Masjid Abu Bakar, Tanah Rata	T-junctions
		Kampung Taman Sedia 1493m above sea level
		Desa Anthurium Apartment 1523m above sea level
		Jalan Kampung Parit 1486m above sea level	Northeast C7 Jalan Kampung Parit Kampung Parit Parit Falls	T-junction
		Persiaran Golden Hills 1490m above sea level	West Persiaran Golden Hills Golden Hills Kampung Sungai Ruil Jalan Tengkolok Sungai Ruil Tea Stop	T-junctions
		Sungai Ruil bridge 1490m above sea level
		Jalan Rumah Persekutuan 1499m above sea level	Summit Jalan Rumah Persekutuan Rumah Peranginan Persekutuan Cameron Highlands (Cameron Highlands Federal Rest House)	T-junctions
		Jalan Girdle --- m above sea level	North FT 434 Jalan Girdle (Girdle Road) Cameron Green Strawberry Park Resort Strawberry shops	T-junction
		Cameron Highlands Sultan Ahmad Shah Golf Club (Formerly known as Cameron Highlands Golf and Country Club) 1499m above sea level	Cameron Highlands Sultan Ahmad Shah Golf Club (Formerly known as Cameron Highlands Golf and Country Club)
Tanah Rata-Brinchang sub-district border 1450 m above sea level
		Jalan Kampung Parit --- m above sea level	Southeast C7 Jalan Kampung Parit Tanah Rata Kampung Parit Parit Falls	T-junction
		Brinchang 1515m above sea level	North Jalan Angsana South Jalan Pecah Batu
		Brinchang 1520m above sea level	Brinchang Food Court
		Brinchang 1534m above sea level	Brinchang Fire Station
		Brinchang 1539m above sea level
		Brinchang 1544m above sea level	Brinchang Police Station
		V Uncle Sam Farm 1583m above sea level	Uncle Sam Farm V	T-junction
		V Rose Garden 1578m above sea level	Rose Garden V	T-junction
		V Brinchang Strawberry Park 1576m above sea level	Brinchang Strawberry Park Strawberry Park and Shoppe Vegetable Market Cameron Highlands Time Tunnel Gallery V
		Sungai Janggus bridge 1601m above sea level
		V S'Corner Market 1600m above sea level	S Corner Market V
		V Cactus Point 1614m above sea level	Cactus Point V	T-junction
		Kea Farm V Kea Farm Food Court 1634m above sea level	V
		Kea Farm 1634m above sea level	Kea Farm Kea Farm daily day-night market V	T-junction
		Copthorne Hotel Cameron Highlands (Formerly known as Equatorial Hills Resort) 1,627m above sea level	Copthorne Resort Cameron Highlands (Formerly known as Equatorial Hills Resort)
		V Butterfly Garden 1635m above sea level	Butterfly Garden V	T-junction
		Jalan Gunung Brinchang 1636m above sea level	Northwest FT 432 Jalan Gunung Brinchang Gunung Brinchang Orang Asli Village Sungai Palas BOH Tea Estate	T-junction
		Persiaran Oriental Lily 1487m above sea level
		V Rose Valley 1486m above sea level	V Rose Valley	T-junction
		Tringkap 1461m above sea level
		Blue Valley Tea Estate 1458m above sea level	East C7 Jalan Blue Valley Blue Valley Tea Estate Tea Shop and Stall V	T-junction
		Cameron Lavender Garden 1367m above sea level
		Kuala Terla 1244m above sea level	Kuala Terla Orang Asli Village	T-junction
		Kampung Raja 1305m above sea level
Cameron Highlands
		Cameron Highlands (North) Second East–West Highway 1436m above sea level	FT 185 Second East–West Highway West FT 185 Simpang Pulai FT 1 Ipoh North–South Expressway Northern Route AH2 North–South Expressway Northern Route Alor Star Penang Kuala Lumpur East FT 185 Gua Musang FT 8 Kuala Lipis FT 8 Kuala Krai FT 8 Kota Bharu FT 185 Kuala Berang FT 185 Kuala Terengganu	T-junction