a group of people riding a ski lift over trees

Nature

Sentosa

Sentosa is literally an island within an island. Good news is that it is very convenient to travel from the mainland to Sentosa unlike other islands. You can walk across, sit a vehicle across (bus or car) or even sit on the monorail from Vivo City.

Sentosa is filled with stuff to do, there are activities for all different types of visitors, adventure cove waterpark, which is a waterpark if you want to escape the heat along with many beaches for people to enjoy the sun and water, AltitudeX which allows you to experience indoor skydiving, Fort Siloso for history buffs, hyperdrive for gokart racing gurus and most famously the Singapore Oceanarium for kids and aquarium lovers and Universal Studios Singapore. For the full list of activities to do, you can check out all the details here!

Back to nature lovers, Sentosa has plenty of places to walk and hike, the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia is an underrated attraction along with the Sentosa Nature Discovery and Fort Siloso. Although not really the most natural attraction (if natural mountains and waterfalls is your thing, you can scroll down to other nature places to explore in Singapore – if not, you can be assured that Sentosa is a great place to have fun in Singapore.

green palm tree near body of water during daytime

Even though it is known as an urban jungle, Singapore has surprisingly quite a number of nature for visitors and locals to experience. However, more often than not, the weather makes it either very hot and humid or rainy, so it might not be the most comfortable experience to hike here (be warned!). Here are a list of some of the more popular places to hike in Singapore. This is a non exhaustive list and so if you want less crowded places or untouched areas, you might need to do your own research.

Hiking places around Singapore

Singapore has no shortage of places to hike, here is a non-exhaustive list of places to check out by difficulty. Please bear in mind that many of these places are filled with insects and mosquitoes due to the tropical climate:

Singapore Botanical Gardens – Easy walk around a popular park

Coney Island Park – Relatively flat, and near the coast

Fort Canning Park – Slight elevation and near town, has some history behind it

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve – Broadwalk walks near swamps and wetland that allows you to experience nature

Macritchie Reservoir – Relatively flat but quite good to experience nature around a reservoir (relatively untouched landspace), there is even a treetop walk. Can be pretty long to hike the entire trail

Southern Ridges – A pretty nice hike that connects quite a lot of landmarks, slight elevation as well

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve – Medium to challenging hike depending on which trail you choose, the main trail will bring you to the highest point in Singapore

Chestnut Nature Park – A pretty no-frills nature hike

Rail Corridor – Not so challenging and it has some historical value and instagrammable spots to take photos, can be quite long

Coast-to-Coast Trail – For those that potentially want to hike the whole of Singapore the entire day or night.

Parks

Singapore has surprisingly many parks which provide some form of nature and greenery to its residences. Most of these parks are not your traditional kind of parks that you think of with picnics and admiration of lakes and ponds alike but more of a retreat for the busyness of city life in Singapore. You can explore them if you are staying near them but I would not say it is really an attraction unless you are looking to do some form of jogging or light exercise and you want a place that is more natural. Many of these parks also offer a cycling path that connects to another park throughout the island if you think that cycling is your kind of mode of transport.

Some of the bigger parks (save for Botanic Gardens which deserves its own paragraph) are worth mentioning:
1. Pasir Ris Park (East)
2. Fort Canning Park (Central)
3. Bedok Reservoir Park (East)
4. Mount Faber Park (South)
5. Sembawang Hot Springs Park (North)
6. Jurong Lake Gardens

A short note about the Sembawang Hot Springs is that while there is a pool for you to dip your feet for free, it is far from the traditional hot springs you are used to in Japan or Taiwan so please manage your expectations.

a train traveling over a bridge over a lush green park

Botanical Gardens

Botanics Gardens is a treasure within the little red dot which is Singapore. It is well maintained, clean and is the only ‘park’ in Singapore that I feel can be compared to the other famous parks in the world. It is even given the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage Site title.

It is actually quite big and spans across a few MRT stations. Within its space you can find many ponds, gardens (including the national orchid garden) which are home to many of wildlife which you don’t see everyday (PS: these animals are wild and are by no means domesticated so please don’t try to approach them and pet them) such as otters, swans and even monitor lizards.

If you are interested in nature and do not want to go full-on hike mode, Botanics Gardens is an easy walk to get around and to. You can even go for a light jog or walk with your family and even a picnic near the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage.

Singapore Neighbouring Islands

Singapore has many islands that can be a short getaway. Besides Sentosa which is the biggest and perhaps an attraction on its own, the rest of the islands are worth exploring if you have additional days and you want to escape the mainland.

Do bear in mind that travelling to these islands do take time to get to and should only be explored if you have additional time as most of them require a full day to get through them. Lets look at each of the islands one by one:

Pulau Ubin

Pulau Ubin is one of those islands where it is a gateway to a completely 180degree destination completely opposite of Singapore. No skyscrapers and basically a blast to the past to a pretty untouched place where you can explore, cycle and even do a few hikes.

There is typically only one way to Pulau Ubin and that is through a bumboat ride between Changi Point Ferry Terminal by bumboat. These rides start from 6am to 7pm (so please make sure to come back by then or you might need to call special transport) and cost about 4 Singapore Dollars (~US$3) per person per way.

The typical local exploring Pulau Ubin would typically leave early in the morning with packed lunch (like hiking food such as sandwiches, light snacks and bottled water or beverages) to the ferry terminal, reaching there before lunch. People will then rent bicycles in the nearby shops and cycle through the various through the various attractions like Chek Jawa, an eco-system which is virtually untouched and the coastal and mangrove broadwalk. If you have your own bicycle, you can also bring them abroad the bumboat for an additional fee. For lunch, there are very limited options for food around the island, so its best not to have to make a detour back just to get food so this is where your packed lunch comes in handy. Once you have finally explored enough for the day, you can head back to the main village and get a traditional meal (typically non-fancy Chinese fare known for fresh seafood) before heading back to the mainland.

You can also kayak, fish and camp at the designated areas around the island if that is your sort of travelling but please do not expect too much as the island is not the fanciest and most maintained island around. Please also bear in mind that the island has no showers and there are only basic toilet facilities so please prepare yourself beforehand.

Personal stuff that I would highly recommend bringing are:
A cap or hat
Lots of water (bottled or waterbag)
Money (if you are eating or renting a bike there)
Insect repellent (There are a lot of mosquitoes and sandflies so this is important)
Sunblock
Packed Lunch (Easy to eat)

St John and Lazarus Island

Another 2 islands worth mentioning are the 2 southern islands in Singapore (on top of Sentosa). Getting to these islands is fairly straightforward and is operated by 2 ferry companies which are the Marina South Ferry and the Singapore Island Cruise. These ferries have designated timings so it is suggested you make your reservations earlier if you want to board them. The ferry ride duration is about 30 minutes.

At both islands, you can explore them by walking or by bike at the rental kiosk. Both islands are technically connected so it is very convenient to visit both together. At St John’s island, you can do many activities like visiting the Marina Park Outreach and Education Centre, go fishing and even camping. Lazarus Island is similar where you can enjoy outdoor activities by the sea and beaches. When visiting the islands, do bear in mind about the toilets and return ferry so you prepare yourself beforehand!

Similarly, you might want to bring the items similar to those for Pulau Ubin.

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