Cameron Highlands was discovered in 1885 by William Cameron, a British government surveyor who went on an expedition into the Main Range and reported coming across "A fine plateau with gentle slopes, shut in by loftier mountains".

In the year 1888, Sir Hugh Low, who was the Resident of Perak, suggested the highlands could be a good sanatorium, health resort and farmland. However in 1886, $20,000 was estimated for improving and extending the narrow bridle path to the 34th mile. Provision was again made in1902 to widen the road.

Nothing much happened in the following years until 1925, when Sir George Maxwell visited the highlands and he later decided to develop it into a hill station. A development committee was then formed which functioned until 1931. During this period, the road which was constructed by a local contractor who employed Chinese and Indian labourer's. This proved to be an enormous task as steep hills had to be cut to construct the winding road up to Ringlet. This was all done entirely by manual labour.

Soon after the road was constructed, wealthy residents and government officials from Perak began to build retreats on the slopes of the highlands. Later some settled here permanently and a business community developed. Farming was the main activity at that time. A permanent British army base was also established soon after that.

The biggest success to the highlands came in 1929 when John Archibald Russell, who was the son of a British administrative officer started a tea plantation which has now became the successful BOH plantations. The highlands had developed successfully until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. During the Japanese occupation, all the British troops and civilians were forced to flee to Singapore. During their departure, the they blew up all the bridges along the access road to slow down the Japanese progress to the highlands. The Japanese arrived the next day repairing all the bridges on their way up to set up a headquarters to administer the area. This was because the highlands vegetables were the main food supply to the Japanese troops stationed in the rest of Malaya. When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, the British began to retake Malaya. The Japanese who were leaving, blew up all the bridges on their way down the highlands. The British later returned and continued to administer the area.

In 1948, after the formation of the Federation of Malaya, the communists guerillas who were against the federation started murdering European planters. A state of emergency was then declared. A curfew was enforced which restricted individual vehicles from using the road from Ringlet to Tapah. The British High Commissioner, Sir Henry Gurney was shot and killed during an ambush by the guerillas.

After independence from the British in 1957, the communist influence started to fade gradually and in 1960, the state of emergency was called off. Since then, life in Cameron Highlands gradually prospered.

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