Showing 1-10 of 10 results
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Bukit Timah Nature Reserve
Singapore's only surviving patch of primary rainforest has the dual honour of being its highest point - a dizzying 163m. Most walkers take the paved trail to the summit, but we suggest diving off along the North View, South View or Fern Valley paths for a distinctly out-of-Singapore experience.
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Jurong Bird Park
Boasting one of the largest bird collections in the world, the Bird Park is a mixed bag of enthralling open-concept aviaries and depressing little cages (the latter slowly being fazed out, hopefully). Don't miss the Waterfall Aviary (with the largest man-made falls on earth), the African Wetlands and the Lori Loft, as well as the Birds of Prey show.
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Kent Ridge Park
Commanding sweeping views over the port, outer islands and Indonesia beyond, it's astonishing that Kent Ridge Park is so deserted. But that's also what makes it one of the best urban escapes in Singapore, because you have kilometres of paths and the treetop boardwalk pretty much to yourself. Check out Reflections at Bukit Chandu while you're there.
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MacRitchie Reservoir
In the middle of the 2000-hectare Central Catchment Nature Reserve is the MacRitchie Reservoir. The mirror-surfaced reservoir is surrounded by a 12km, four-hour, circular jungle trail with a tree-top walkway. The trail is organised into six colour-coded sectors - pick up a map at the Rangers' Office. You can also hire a kayak or go fishing.
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Mt Faber
Mt Faber stands proud (if not tall) at 116m on the southern fringe of the city, opposite the HarbourFront Centre and not far from Sentosa Island. From the summit, the strange splendour of Singapore rolls away to the horizon in all directions. To get to the top, ride the spectacular cable car from the HarbourFront Centre, or take the shuttle bus from HarbourFront bus terminal.
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Mt Faber Park
Standing 166m above the south fringe of the city, the Pulau Brani port and Harbourfront, Mt Faber's steeply terraced trails wind through humming forest, past strategically positioned viewpoints. Run by a leisure group, it's a lot busier and more commercial than Kent Ridge or Labrador parks, but it also boasts bars with some of best views in the city. The exhilarating cable car (adult/child return around S$12 /6.50; h - ) is the best way to get to and from the hill.
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Pulau Ubin
A 10-minute chug from Changi Point Ferry Terminal lands you on the shores of Pulau Ubin. There's no timetable; boats depart when 12 people are ready to go (not usually too long). Singaporeans like to wax nostalgic about Ubin's kampung (village) atmosphere, but it's only a matter of time before the developers come knocking. For the moment though, it's a rural, unkempt expanse of jungle full of lizards, weird shrines and cacophonic birdlife.
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Raffles Marina
As remote as it's possible to get from the city, Raffles Marina is a surreal world of clanging halyards, cawing birds and salty stories out in the industrial wastelands of Singapore's far west. Temporary home to travelling yachties and a few boat-dwelling residents, it's a great place to sit at sunset over dinner with a few beers - even better if you have a few seaman's tales to share.
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Robertson Quay
Robertson Quay was once thronging with boat repairers and timber mills. Near Saigon Bridge are the river's last derelict godown (warehouses), held together with tree roots and rust - given Singapore's appetite for destruction, they won't last much longer! There's a healthy crop of hotels, nightclubs and restaurants clustered around here too.
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Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
A 87-hectare nature reserve in far northwest Singapore overlooking the Strait of Johor, and home to 140 species of birds. It's been declared a nature reserve and recognised as a sanctuary of international importance as part of the East Asia Flyway.
The best time for viewing birds is before and if you go on a weekday the reserve is blissfully serene. Be prepared for encounters with several monitor lizards, some of them unnervingly large, and sightings of playful otter families hunting fish.
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