The idea of a hill resort located near Kuala Lumpur occurred to Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong during a business trip to theCameron Highlands in 1964. He mooted this idea while enjoying the fresh and crisp air from the balcony of his hotel room. A private company called Genting Highlands Berhad was set up on 27 April 1965, with the late Tan Sri Haji Mohammed Noah bin Omar, Tan Sri Lim successfully obtained approval for the alienation of 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) and 2,800 acres (1,100 ha) of land from the Pahang and Selangor State Government respectively between the years 1965 and 1970. An anomaly happened during the obtaining of the land approvals. While the Pahang state government swiftly approved a freehold lease, the Selangor state reluctantly approved a 99-year lease. As a result, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong met the thenMenteri Besar of Selangor, Dato Harun Idris and told him that a freehold lease would be more feasible than a 99-year lease. Finally, the Selangor state government agreed to grant a freehold lease.

Genting Highlands has a spring-like climate, with yearly temperatures no higher than 25 °C (77 °F) and rarely falling below 14 °C (57 °F) yearly. The lowest temperature of Genting Highlands is 8.4 °C (47.1 °F).