8 x Inspiration for Hiking in Singapore – See the Diversity of Singapore by Foot! – Active Travel

Hiking in Singapore? You’re suprised? Well let me tell you, Singapore is the perfect city for it if you ask me. A walk to end your day active or just to spend an afternoon in nature. Hiking in Singapore is surprisingly full of things to see and do. I have done several hikes in Singapore and was really super surprised with the diversity in the city. It is a big city and of course it remains so but there is a lot of nature, a lot of greenery in the city. I had a great time there!

Do you opt for an educational walk or do you just want to see a bit of Singapore by foot? There are several walks in Singapore and so there is something for everyone. In the days I was there, I did several walks. The first time I was in Singapore I bought a tourist pass for the metro but the second time I was there I just visited everything in Singapore by foot.

Go Hiking in Singapore – Active Travel

All of the Singapore walking routes I describe here are quite doable from the city centre, Chinatown or Arabic Quarter et al. To get to know Singapore, I can really recommend some of these walks.

Singapore River Walk

If you look for the highlights of Singapore, you soon end up at the river that flows into Singapore. Clarke Quay and Boat Quay line the river and are very popular in the evening. Many restaurants and cafes make it a colourful and beautifully lit place to be and walk around. I walked past it once in the evening and read many information boards along the river that tell about the background and origins of Singapore.

I also walked part of this Singapore walking route during the day. Super interesting to see how such a city developed around an estuary where, of course, trade and walking flourished. People came here from all corners of Europe and Asia to trade. Like everywhere else in Singapore, there are statues and information panels to tell you what you see and how it came into being.

• Looking for more information on where and how to walk the Singapore River Walk loop? Check out this information Singapore provides about the River Walk. See where the River walk runs in Singapore with this GPS location of the Singapore River Walk

Hike around Marina Bay Sands

A little further on, you’ll find Marina Bay Sands with a beautiful water feature that you can take a stroll around. Also a must visit if you’re in Singapore of course. The walk is 3.5 km and because they built the Helix Bridge, which is 280 metres long, you can now walk all the way around.

You have the The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands shopping centre there but you will also find the symbol of Singapore by this body of water. The symbol of Singapore is half a fish and lion and is called Merlion. And Merlion is super beautifully lit in the evening and on the other side of the water, you can enjoy a beautiful water show with music.

I found the atmosphere super cosy and friendly. Everything is big so you are not easily too close to people which sometimes makes you feel like you have to watch your stuff. (By pickpockets, for example)

8x Inspiration for Hiking in Singapore

Jubilee Walk

This walk will take you past quite a few beautiful historical sites and buildings in Singapore. I find this walk very worthwhile if you want to see a bit more of the city. It takes you to the other side of the river than the River Walk and shows you Old Hill Street Police Station, Parliament House, Armenian Apostolic Church and many other beautiful buildings, for example.

That Hill Street Station police station stands out from afar with its rainbow-coloured shutters. Super nice and big building! And to my surprise, I didn’t take a photo of it 🙂

You also do Marina Bay Sands, Gardens by the Bay and The Singapore River. There are clear signs along the way, so you can hook up anywhere on these 8km walks along Singapore’s beautiful historical spots.

• Read more information about Jubilee Walk.

Fort Canning Park

As the name suggests, this park is built around a fort. Fort Canning stands in the middle of the park and the gardens surrounding it. Some old gates and narrow passages can still be seen where you can walk through them. There are several entrances and thereby beautiful gateways to be found.

Did you know that Fort Canning Park is also called forbidden hill? Called Bukit Larangan by locals. It is believed to be haunted. The ancient Singa Pura was at this place and after conquests came from the side of China, the place was abandoned. It is believed that the ancient Kings still rule there …

Fort Canning Park is not super big but it is a nice little park to take a walk and read and see about its history. Of course, you then have to visit the famous spot Tree Tunnel to take a nice photo. This is located on the side of Dhoby Ghaut metro station. But all over the park, there are signs pointing to the Tree Tunnel as well.

On the way back through the park, I stumbled upon a Spice Gallery.
Super nicely made and maintained. Delicious scents came from the spice garden.

Would you also like to take a photo in the Tree Tunnel? Then navigate to this GPS Tree Tunnel. Would you also like to visit the Spice Garden? GPS Spice Garden.

Hiking in Singapore – City & Nature Rolled Into One

Hiking the Henderson Waves

These were my favourites though! The Henderson Waves and the Earth Trail and Forest Walk (covered later in the blog). I really enjoyed this one super much! It’s a walk of about 4-5 km from the city centre to get there. Depends where your hotel is, if you’re in Chinatown it’s 5 km. And if you are housed in Arabic Quarter you will walk 5km.

I found the entrance to Faber Park on Henderson Road and walked up it. Soon I was walking on the Henderson Waves and got a view of Singapore. On one side, I could see the bay in the distance and on the other, a vista of the city itself.

That first time, it started raining and I tried to take shelter under the waves. I only just managed because what turns out? They are not closed, so in principle you cannot sit there dry. But in a low part where the wood was a bit higher I managed. It was very quiet on the Henderson Waves and after a photo session I went back to town.

The Henderson Waves connects the parks of Faber Park and Telok Blangah Hill Park.
And did you know that the Henderson Waves is the tallest bridge in Singapore at 36 metres above Henderson Road!

Also go hiking on the Henderson Waves, navigate to it – GPS Henderson Waves

The Southern Ridges

If you have a lot of time for hiking in Singapore then you should actually take in the whole park. The Southern Ridges consists of the following parks: Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park, Hort Park and Kent Ridge Park. The parks are contiguous and there are trails running through the parks so you could take a long walk through the different parks.

The Southern Ridges park opened in 2004 and has over 10 km of trails. Partly on the ground and partly in footbridges.

There are two popular routes that I found and will actually do next time. To walk those, you could easily take an underground to a starting point and then walk back into the city from the end, or vice versa of course. I think it will be a very long walk otherwise. Especially with hot weather, you lose the energy just a bit faster.

Take a look at routes A & B. At B, they describe beautiful gardens and various styles put away. I already saw a beautiful garden, the Therapeutic Garden. So good that they make places for that, places for rest and the fine plants that go with it. So I would go for B if I am in Singapore again now.

See where the Southern Rigdes are located in Singapore – GPS Southern Rigdes

Earth Trail and Forest Walk

If you had come just for the Henderson Waves, I really must recommend hiking a little further. If you walk out of the Henderson Waves towards Telok Blangah Hill Park, you have to cross the road at one point and then at Alkaff Mansion keep left.

• Along this road you will find parking spaces, a water fountain to fill your water bottle and toilets.

After this, you then pass the stairs that lead you to Terrace Garden. A nice place to get a view over the city again, though. It is made up of several terraces in different heights. I couldn’t walk across this because the back was closed so I walked along the road past it to end up at the starting point of the Forest Walk. There is an information board there about the trails so you can’t miss it. Behind it, you can walk right at height among the trees because there you can walk right up the Forest Walk. Really, I think it’s super!

You see beautiful tree trunks, amazing leaves but I also soon spot a huge spider not even that far from me. Then there are always people walking past me who don’t see it, don’t have an eye for it or just don’t pay attention. Sometimes I speak to people about it but very often I get puzzled faces then so this time I let everyone pass. Not everyone finds a spider interesting 🙂

With the help of the internet, I read that it is a Nephila Pilipes. A species of spider from the family of wheelweb spiders. I had seen them before and I find them super interesting to see. They are also super big! Including the legs, you come to at least 15 cm in length. The body alone is about 3 to 5 cm I read, when I search further on the internet.

Everywhere there are information boards with the names of the trees, plants and animals you see or hear. As if I were already walking far into the jungle, I can hear the cicada screaming! I had even come across signs telling me to watch out for wild animals like monkeys. What to do if they came close to you….

• If you have Instagram, you can check the Singapore stories from this day and my visit to Singapore there, and you can listen to the cry of the Cicada.

Check where Forest Walk en Earth Trail is

After hiking a bit on the Forest Walk, I decide at one of the points where you can switch paths to go to the Earth Trail. I suddenly walk on a path among tall trees, I see plants along the path and see ants walking again. Suddenly you are part of nature again, not protected by a path hanging in the middle of nowhere. So now I think about how I carry my things with me in case a monkey does come and wants to take my water bottle from me.

In total, I walk a few kilometres on these two trails. I walk down this path for a bit but after walking on the Earth Trail for a while, I decide to walk on the Forest Walk again back to the centre.

For me, it has become time to get something to eat. Within 1 hour, I am back by foot in Singapore’s busy city centre and order some food at Lau Pa Sat. Really my favourite place to pick out good food in Singapore though!

Hiking in Singapore

Hiking in Singapore – Gardens by the Bay

As a final tip for hiking in Singapore, of course Gardens by the Bay also comes along. Gardens by the Bay is the place to go for a nice stroll in Singapore. It is quite a sprawling area flush with the city centre and the park contains all sorts of beautiful artifacts. Eg this coloured cat spraying against a building, haha!

You will also come across the famous supertrees here. In the evening, several light and sound shows can be admired here for free. I went on my first night here and thought it was really cool to see. Hundreds of people sat on the floor, on the benches and enjoyed the classical and modern music with a beautiful light show.

Another day, I also went through the park again during the day to visit the Cloud Forest. What a cool ‘museum’. It is a huge glass dome in which a real rainforest has been recreated. From large trees to tiny carnivorous plants are on display. I walked around there for about 2 hours. And then you’re back in the park and I had a nice stroll through the Gardens by the Bay itself.

Navigate to Gardens by the Bay to go hiking

8 x hiking in Singapore

Would you walk as much on a city trip?
Or are you more of the metro?

 

Looking for more travel inspiration?

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What to do at Cameron Highlands – Tanah Rata, Malaysia

Or would you like to try a tasty Nyonya soup?

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I hope you enjoy this beautiful world as much as I do