I appreciate it sounds like a cliché but Singapore really is a city of contrasts, with beautiful gardens nestled next to towering sky scrapers. A visit to any one of the numerous parks across the country must be done when visiting; the strict rules about littering and pollution, alongside a lot of investment into green space, has helped keep these ecologically diverse areas well maintained. There were two green areas that Mr H and I explored, if you’re short on time then the Gardens in the Bay are a central option offering shorter walks, whilst the Southern Ridges are a 10km trail of paths connecting several outdoor areas.
Gardens by the Bay
After arriving at the hotel around 8am, we were left with several hours to pass until we could check in. Leaving our bag with the friendly concierge, it was hard for us to miss the expansive nature park located across the road. The Gardens by the Bay covers 250 acres of land next to the Marina, with a path leading from the park straight into the Marina Bay Sands shopping centre. The gardens are beautiful enough in themselves to stroll around, or there are several striking structures which can be visited. The distinctive Supertree Grove consists of tree-like structures containing vertical gardens. We didn’t actually go inside these but from our hotel room we could see people walking along a elevated walkway between some of the structures. There are also conservatories and a Flower Dome creating different climates suitable for a range of flora, we chose to skip these and instead went into the Cloud Forest. Tickets or $28 for access to both the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest or slightly cheaper if you only want to enter one.
The Cloud Forest is designed for tropical highland flora, and contains a 35 metre ‘mountain’ which you climb through a series of ramps. When we first entered the biome we were immediately doused by a mist of cool water which was not what I expected from a tropical environment but welcomingly refreshing after the sticky heat from outside. This spray was coming from the largest indoor waterfall, trailing down the side of the mountain in front of us. We then spent a delightful 45 minutes scaling the mountain and working a way back down, appreciating the air conditioning pumped throughout the biome to replicate the cooler highland conditions of the tropic. The whole building is maintained in an energy efficient way, for those interested it’s worth a read of the information boards detailing how this is managed. All in all, I’ve never visited anything like this before and it was a delightful way to spend some time (and cool down) whilst we were waiting to check in.
The Southern Ridges
The start point of the Southern Ridges trail is located at near HarbourFront MRT station. After exiting through (surprise surprise) a shopping centre, cross the main road and you should be able to spot the sign marking the start of the path, along with a warning there may be moneys about. We didn’t spot any but it’s advisable to take precautions such as not carrying plastic bags or eating in the wooded areas…something Mr H wasn’t aware of when we hit the start line.
We walked to point 8 in the map below and this took us about 2-2.5 hours with stops at points of interest along the why. The route follows good surfaced paths so you’ll be fine in trainers.
The start of the route is uphill, going through a wooded area first before joining the road up to the cable car. It’s not too steep but in the heat we were soon sweating! Follow signs for the ‘Henderson Waves’ and you’ll pass the cable car on the left, around here there are some pretty nice views of the city so don’t forget your camera. There’s a restaurant and bar here if you wanted to stop for a drink/food. Just after the entrance to the cable car there are steps up to the left, which leads up to the ‘Bell of Happiness’, located in the garden of the Spuds & Aprons restaurant. Ringing the bell is supposed to bring good luck to married people so if course we gave it a good strike!
There’s also a gift shop nearby where you can buy bells to hang from the nearby fence and next to a cute love sculpture, similar to the ‘love locks’ in Paris. Worth a look before heading back down the stairs and onto the main path.
Follow the road and you’ll reach the Henderson Waves after about another 10-15 minutes of walking. We also made another small detour to visit monument on the history of Singapore which was up a small hill on the way, up some short stairs on the right of the path. The Henderson Waves in the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore, linking Mount Faber and Telok Blangah parks over a busy road and is named due to it’s unusual undulating structure.
Shortly after the bridge are toilets and a vending machine if you need refreshments, otherwise the path continues through woodland and onto road at points, until you reach the Forest Walk. These are a series of slightly vertigo inducing elevated (18m) metal paths over the forest, providing some pretty interesting views but not for those who don’t like heights. Apparently there is an alternative ground path but who wouldn’t want the chance to walk along the tree-tops!?
This path leads to Alexandra Arch, a bridge connecting to HortPark which is where we decided to leave the trail and head back to the MRT. We followed the road left out of the exit, heading back in the direction of where we started. We were a bit unsure about where we were walking too but soon came across a shopping centre and knew there must therefore be a MRT station nearby. Lo and behold we spotted a sign for Labrador Park MRT where we gratefully let the underground take our tired legs back to the hotel.
If you’re planning a trip to Singapore it’s worth setting some time aside for an outdoor visit. With the government apparently driving for the country to be seen as a ‘City in a Garden’, it is surprisingly easy to forget you are in the centre of a striving economic hub when you venture into the delights of one of the many expansive gardens.
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