It’s Easy to Get into Nature in Urban Singapore
Singapore has Plenty of Nature when you Know Where to Look
Even though Singapore touts itself as one of the greenest cities in the world, with National Parks (NParks) citing more than 7,800 hectares of green spaces, most of what we see every day is manmade parks or tiny green patches. They’re far different from the vast national parks and forests in larger countries around the world, including some such as Malaysia and Indonesia that are close by. Indeed, it can easily seem like getting to an actual forest is nigh impossible.
Yet there actually are places in Singapore where you can get away from the noise and buildings – 24 of them, NParks says, including four nature reserves and twenty parks or nature areas.
The nature reserves - Bukit Timah, Central Catchment (MacRitchie), Labrador and Sungei Buloh – are the biggest ones.
The largest is the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, which NParks lists as being more than 2,000 hectares. 20 kilometers of trails wend through the Reserve, with routes 1 through 6 ranging from an easy 3-kilometer walk to an 11-kilometer trail that circles the entire Reserve and will take several hours to complete.
Bukit Timah Nature Reserve is also a delightful escape, with 4 trails of varying distances and difficulties that begin at the Visitor Center. Its 163 hectares include Singapore’s tallest hill, Bukit Timah Hill, at 163 meters. It also includes some of the last remnants of primary forest in Singapore and has more unpaved dirt trails than some other reserves. You can easily spend a few hours or even half a day wandering through the trails.
Bukit Timah and other reserves are often next to nature parks, which are green buffers designed to protect the biodiversity that offers a home to native plants and wildlife. While not as rich an opportunity to escape fully into nature, they offer pleasant sojourns amidst greenery.
Offshore islands offer a respite too. Pulau Ubin, for instance, has a variety of wildlife in a relatively rustic setting and offers hikes or short treks as well as camping, kayaking and cycling. It’s easy to rent a bike that you can use to get around parts of the island, or you can simply follow trails that will take you away from the populated area near the pier where you arrive. It’s easy to spend anywhere from part of a morning to a full day exploring the island.
St. John’s Island, accessible via ferry from Marina South Pier, has an easy walking trail that is nearly 3 kilometers long. And from St. John's Island it’s about a 15-minute walk via a manmade causeway to a beach on Lazarus Island.
While they don’t offer as much of an escape from the city as nature reserves, there are also longer trails in Singapore that have greenery on both sides, even if you’re often peeking out at buildings.
The Coast-to-Coast Trail, for example, is a 36-kilometer trail that links nature areas, parks and park connectors from Jurong Lake Gardens in the west through Lornie Nature Corridor to Coney Island in the northeast. You could easily hike for the full day on this one.
The Rail Corridor, on land formerly used for the tracks for the railway that linked Singapore with Malaysia, is a 24-kilometer stretch that goes from Woodlands to Tanjong Pagar. While houses and malls as well as office buildings are visible along the way on this one too, the trails are bounded on both sides by greenery. It also allows wildlife to move between major green spaces along the route. While part of it is paved, the stretch from Rifle Range Road to Kranji has a trail made from grass and gravel. Walking along the entire trail can easily take half a day or more.
Another popular yet perhaps lesser-known trail is Mandai T15 in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. The 7.1-kilometer wooded loop, which starts on Mandai Lake Road near the entrance of the Singapore Zoo and goes to the Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre, gives you a couple of hours amidst greenery. Along the way you’ll see trees and wetlands as well as long-tail macaques, and if you’re lucky you may even spot some deer.
Linking many of the places is the Park Connector, which has more than 380 kilometers of paved pathways around the island that go through greenery as well as urban areas.
Getting there is Easy, by Yourself or with a Group
Getting out into nature is easy once you figure out where you want to go, and you can head to any of these areas on your own. You can drive or use Grab, and buses or the MRT take you close to the entrance to many of them. Well-marked paths also connect these nature parks together, and the “Park Connector” signs abound on walkways scattered around Singapore.
It can also be enjoyable to go with a group.
If you want to learn lots more about the area you’re visiting, the Nature Society Singapore runs regular walks in parks across the island. Expert leaders explain the flora and fauna to participants in the walks, who are almost all nature afficionados. I’ve found an amazing depth of knowledge among the volunteer guides on nature walks I’ve enjoyed.
A fun way for families to get out into nature is to join the Hash House Horrors, a children’s running and walking group that follows a trail of flour or chalk through parks and “jungles” all around the island. Our children thoroughly enjoyed their time in nature, even though some of the trails were challenging, and the “runs” all wound up with a meal at the end. For adults who want a similar experience, sometimes in the lesser-known areas of Singapore, nine other Hashes in Singapore target men, women, bikers or other segments.
Another option is WWF-Singapore, which organizes Wetland Watchers at Lim Chu Kang Nature Park. The monthly conservation program aims to enhance connection between people and nature. WWF says participants can gain hands-on experience in the world of a field biologist while contributing to the conservation of Singapore’s ecosystems. WWF also hosts walks at Rifle Range Nature Park, led by experienced guides who help participants learn about Singapore’s natural heritage and who may help you spot species such as the Straw-headed Bulbul or the Malayan Colugo.
There are plenty of other nature groups too. Check out Meetup, for example, to learn about groups such as SG Hikes, or use AI to check out other groups that may interest you.
Getting Into Nature is Wonderful
Wherever you go on your nature excursion, whether it’s heading into a forest or sitting on an uncluttered beach, you’re likely to feel an immediate sense of calm from simply spending time in the natural world. Beyond that peace of mind, heading into nature has a multitude of benefits.
Exposure to green space has been linked to better sleep, lower blood pressure, and reduced risk of chronic disease, according to Harvard professor Heather Eliassen. "We see changes in the body such as a lowering of blood pressure, a change in your heart rate variability and your heart beats slower,” the BBC similarly observed. “The scent of trees and soil is full of organic compounds released by plants,” and breathing them in can even boost your microbiome.
Yes, we’ll most often spend our days in an urban environment of high-rise buildings and busy streets. When we need an escape, though, nature is close by. It’s easy to spend hours amidst the trees and streams that will help to restore our sense of well-being.
Published in Living in Singapore, https://issuu.com/singaporeame... , page 28
