Botanical tourism in Singapore
Sourced from Wikivoyage. Text is available under the CC-by-SA 3.0 license.
For many Singapore may bring to mind skyscrapers with financial cooperation headquarters, high-tech industry and one of the largest harbours in the world. And this is true, but Singapore is no concrete jungle — on the contrary it was the vision of founder Lee Kuan Yew, that it should not be so. The Government often refers to Singapore as "City in a Garden" and that is largely true, there are plants and trees everywhere, even downtown, and apart from the many great parks there are also a number of wild, green patches. One patch, the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve consists almost exclusively of primary rainforest, and is said to have more species living there than North America, and although that is debatable the biodiversity is indeed extremely high. Singapore has tropical rainforest within its city limits, and the Singapore Botanical Garden is one of only three botanical gardens to have UNESCO World heritage status (The other two being Kew Gardens in London and Padoa Botanial Garden in northern Italy). In Singapore you can board a train or bus and go directly to primary rainforest or mangrove swamp, and at the same time you don't really have to worry about horrid tropical diseases, poisonous snakes (do exist, but are quite rare) or giant spiders.
Singapore is part of the Indomalayan Realm, with South Asian wildlife.
Prepare/beware
Also note that Singapore has (and enforces) very strict regulations on collecting plants and especially animals, and even on straying from the official paths - and this is good for there are a lot of people sharing the nature!
All publicly accessible nature comes well signed, and it pays off to read the information given as it will tell in those few cases where caution is needed!
For a high-tech country like Singapore it is in some cases amazingly dependent on cash; when going into nature you will find softdrink vending machines in the most unlikely places (to avoid people dehydrating) but they usually accept only coins (like 1$ or 2$) and small notes.
Changi airport
While not really a sight in itself, Changi airport is the point of entry for most visitors and deserves mention for the impressive greenery displays found everywhere in the airport - worth mentioning is a large stand of Agathis at immigration (one side). Jewel Changi Airport is a mixed-use development at Changi Airport in Singapore that opened in 2019. It includes gardens, a hotel, aviation facilities and 300 retail and dining facilities
Central and North
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phone: +65 1800 471 7300address: 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569This UNESCO World Heritage site was once considered among the finest botanical gardens in the British empire, and it is still a firm favorite for visitors and locals alike. Features trees and plants from tropical climates around the world. Walking and jogging trails are throughout, and you can register for regular free guided tours highlighting different themes or areas. Picnicking is allowed, but there are also quite a few cafes and restaurants.
There are a number of special themed gardens within the garden
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phone: +65 6420 6848address: 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore 018953An edutainment-style park focused around botany, horticulture, garden heritage, green-tech and biodiversity. Spanning 101 hectares (250 acres) of reclaimed land in central Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir, the park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden, Bay East Garden and Bay Central Garden. The largest of the gardens is Bay South Garden at 54 hectares (130 acres). Gardens by the Bay is part of a strategy by the Singapore government to transform Singapore from a "Garden City" to a "City in a Garden". The stated aim is to raise the quality of life by enhancing greenery and flora in the city.
The Gardens by the Bay includes a number of special attractions or themed gardens:
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phone: +65 1800 471 7300address: 177 Hindhede Dr, Singapore 589333A small 1.64 square kilometre (400 acre) nature reserve, one of the largest patches of primary rainforest left in Singapore, located on the slopes of Bukit Timah Hill, Singapore's highest hill standing at a height of 163.63 metres, and parts of the surrounding area. The forest reserve was formally declared as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2011. Lots of very large trees and the heritage trees are signposted.
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Central Catchment Nature Reserve
phone: +65 1800 471 7300One of the largest and wildest green patches in Singapore. Mostly secondary rainforest padded with some primary rainforest and scattered smaller wetland areas. Also contaisn the two lakes MacRitchie Reservoir and Upper Pierce Reservoir. For history buffs, the ruins of the Syonan Jinja, a Shinto shrine built during the Japanese occupation, can also be found here, though it is difficult to access as it is located in the middle of the jungle with no paths leading there.
Contains a number of more specific activities
phone: +65 1800 471 7300
address: Bukit Batok East Avenue
Nice lake in an old quarryHeritage TreesThe Singaporean government does a great deal to protect and teach about trees, and therefore singposts heritage trees all over the country
There are a number of specific tree-trails in several places, below is listed a few of the more prominent
The Southern Ridges
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phone: +65 6377 9688address: Mount Faber Rd, SingaporeMount Faber, formerly Telok Blangah Hill, is a hill about 105 m (344 ft) in height, overlooking the Telok Blangah area, and the western parts of the Central Area. The vegetation around Mount Faber is secondary rainforest that is smaller and less dense than on Bukit Timah Hill. Check out the Merang trail.
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address: Telok Blangah GreenA special collection of giant trees native to the region. It comprises over 600 trees that dominated the regional landscape before the advent of urbanisation. Also known as emergents - large trees that grow above the forest canopy - some of the 55 species selected for the collection can attain heights of over 80m in the wild. As these giant tree species can take more than 50 years to mature and reach such great heights, NParks has also planted a visually striking collection of trees with large leaves.
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address: Telok Blangah Green1.3 km elevated metal walkway soaring as high as 18 meters above the ground, on level with the treetops. One of the most impressive sections of the Southern Ridges Walk. About halfway through, the walk returns to earth for a moment, paralleling Preston Road and its impressive collection of "black and white" bungalows that were built for the officers of the British army and now much favored by wealthy expats in Singapore. The triangular-shaped leaves of the fast-growing “Mile-a-Minute” plant (Mikania micrantha) inspired the elevated floors of the walkway. From there, you can spot Simpoh Air (Dillenia indica), a large common shrub. In the past, hawkers and villagers used its leaves to wrap food items.
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phone: +65 6471 5601address: 33 Hyderabad Rd, Singapore 119578A one-stop gardening resource centre that brings together gardening-related, recreational, educational, research and retail activities under one big canopy in a park setting. It is also a knowledge centre for plants and gardening, providing planting ideas and solutions, and offering a platform for the horticulture industry to share best practices and showcase garden designs, products and services. Every 1-2 months features the event "Gardeners day out".
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address: Kent RidgeAnother trail on the Southern Ridges that offers trekkers the experience of walking through a secondary forest at eye-level with the forest canopy. It takes about 10 minutes to explore this 280-m-long boardwalk that links Kent Ridge Park to the museum “Reflections at Bukit Chandu”. Listen out for the sounds of birds and insects interrupting the serenity of the park. Sunbirds, doves, squirrels, lizards and the White-crested Laughingthrush (Garrulax leucolophus) are part of the rich biodiversity thriving here.
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address: Labrador Nature ReserveBoardwalk along a Mangrowe swamp
Outskirts
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phone: +65 6794 1401address: 301 Neo Tiew Cres, Singapore 718925130 hectares of wetland and mangrove listed as an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2003. It is an important stopping point for migratory birds during the northern hemisphere winter.
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phone: +65 6794 1401address: 11 Neo Tiew Lane 2, Singapore 71881456.8-hectare freshwater marshland that is home to unique biodiversity. Located along the northwestern shore of Kranji Reservoir, it is one of the largest freshwater marshes in Singapore.
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address: Pulau UbinLaid-back rural island situated in the north east of Singapore, to the west of Pulau Tekong. Only about a hundred villagers live at Ubin today. It is one of the last rural areas to be found in Singapore, with an abundance of natural flora and fauna. The island forms part of the Ubin–Khatib Important Bird Area. Of special interest is the Chek Jawa Wetlands, one of Singapore’s richest ecosystems.
Nurseries
Singapore has extremely strict rules on collecting live plants as most nature in Singapore is either a garden, park or nature reserve. However there's a fair number of nurseries where you can by a huge number of tropical plants, often at bargain prices.
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Nurseries at Thomson Road
address: Around 565 Thomson Rd, Singapore 298184In Singapore they like to organise everything in "hubs" and the area around northern Thomson Road just south of MacRitchie Park is certainly the main "nursery hub" - around 10 different nurseries are here. -
phone: +65 6257 3259address: 15 Bah Soon Pah Road, Singapore 769962Nice, well assorted nursery
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phone: +65 6765 3333address: http://www.chengtainursery.com/Another well-assorted nursery
Sleep
Singapore is generally a hotel country, although hostels and B&Bs do exist too. But if you want to sleep in contact with nature the options are limited. The few available are listed below:
CampingCamping is allowed in designated areas of East Coast Park, West Coast Park and Pasir Ris Park. All have showers and toilets and are free to use for stays of up to five days, although you have to register with park officers or online. You can also camp on some of the offshore islands such as Pulau Hantu, St. John's Island and Pulau Ubin, but in addition to getting a permit, you will also need to charter a boat to get there.
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phone: +65 6898 9228address: Neo Tiew Lane 2, Singapore 718813Collection of luxury huts (referred to as villas).