The Best Hikes in Singapore

The Best Hikes in Singapore

Singapore takes pride in its green spaces. The city’s towering buildings are topped with lush garden roofs and waterfalls of vibrant foliage cascade down their sides. It makes sense that a country so in tune with promoting green spaces would offer wonderful parks and reserves to hike.

The following are some of Singapore’s top hiking areas where you can witness some of the country’s most scenic landscapes from an easily accessible network of trails. And although the Lion City may not offer any real life wild lions, you are bound to witness a wide array of rare and exotic animals along the way.

Fort Canning Park

A great place to begin your hiking adventures is Fort Canning which is easily accessible from the center of the city just up the hill from the iconic Orchard Road and some of Singapore’s finest hotels. Once home to Malay royalty, the park is a now a popular venue for concerts and festivals and offers many historical artifacts for the history lover. There is a military museum located in a WWII British bunker, a canon, and Singapore’s first Christian cemetery.

The park offers several interconnecting trails which showcase many of Singapore’s endemic flora species. It’s the perfect place to take a stroll after eating at one of Singapore’s many delicious restaurants.

Bukit Timah National Park

Located off Hindhede Drive, Bukit Timah N.P. offers hikers the challenge of Singapore’s tallest natural hill. Be sure to seek out the park’s remnants of a past traditional village where many structures still exist, despite slowly being reclaimed by the jungle. 

The park is rich with wildlife. You may spot pangolins, macaques, pythons, and numerous bird species.

MacRitchie Reservoir Park & Nature Trail

You will feel as though you are a million miles away from the city when hiking through MacRitchie’s extensive trail system. Well-maintained boardwalks around the reservoir allow you to experience the area’s lush jungle setting and its wild inhabitants which include macaques, monitor lizards, and pitcher plants. 

Enjoy canoeing and kayaking or head to the TreeTop Walk which offers a 250 meter-long suspension bridge suspended some 25 meters in the air. Bird watchers will want to check out the seven story tall Jelutong Tower where they can get their own bird’s eye view through the trees. Enjoy hikes that can range anywhere from an hour to half a day depending on your chosen circuit.

Southern Ridges

Here you will find a 10 kilometer connector trail that offers hikers the chance to visit several of Singapore’s most scenic parks. Experience the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore, known as Henderson Waves, as well as Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill, and Kent Ridge Park.

The hiking route has many entrance and exit points along the southern edge of the city and can easily be accessed by the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system.

henderson waves: photo by yeowatzup

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Located a short distance from Kranji MRT Station, Sungei Buloh offers a 500 meter boardwalk where you may be able to spot mudskippers, a crocodile, or even a massive Atlas moth. Hike the Migratory Bird Trail which offers bird viewing hides, platforms, and a tower. The area is home to many migratory shorebirds as well as year round wetland species like herons and egrets.

print
Please follow and like us:

Author: Michael Jerrard

Share This Post On

1 Comment

  1. Great Post and Stunning Pictures. I am an immense devotee of Singapore and love to visit it over and over. Singapore is one of my fantasy goals and it was incredible to see such a large number of things. Pictures are magnificent. Thank you.

    Post a Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *