SINGAPORE 2days/1night

Then, from Brunei Darussalam, tourists will be brought continuing the tour to the next destination which is Singapore. It is more often associated with soaring skycrapers, state-of-the-art office towers and acres of shopping malls THAN with parks and wildlife, green pastures and original forest and mangrove areas.

Nevertheless, highly urbanised Singapore is indeed a city of contrast. It can be surprising to discover a genuine rainforest, mangrove areas which lives by rich variety of flora and fauna and over 300 species of birds.

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Singapore's oldest primary rainforest

The forest was never extensively cleared for cultivation and shelters a vast variety of plants. Bukit Timah was declared by Alfred Russel Wallace to be 'exceedingly productive'. Indeed, species new to science continue to be discovered here, even today!

The Bukit Timah and Central Catchment nature reserves are home to more than 840 flowering plants and over 500 species of animals. These include towering trees, climbing palms (better known as rattans), ferns, orchids, gingers and strange blooms such as the Black or Bat lily. The forest is home to all kinds of animals. The most commonly encountered are the Long-tailed Macaques or monkeys. Please don't feed them as this does them more harm than good. Other special treats are the Flying lemur (Colugo) and squirrels. Forest birds include the Striped tit-babbler, the Fairy bluebird, drongos and bulbuls.

MacRitchie Reservoir

The distinctive zig-zag bridge and Performing Arts Pavilion are popular spots at the reservoir

More than one square kilometre of primary forest still flourishes in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve today, particularly around MacRitchie Reservoir. Rubber trees, remnants of the plantations from the 19th century, can still be seen along the fringes around the reservoir.

There are boardwalks skirting the edge of the scenic MacRitchie Reservoir and walking trails through the forest. They range in distances from 3 km to 11 km. Interpretative signboards along the boardwalks allow for a self-guided tour along the fringes of the MacRitchie forest.

The boardwalk around the perimeter of the MacRitchie Reservoir brings the visitor through interesting secondary forest in the Central Catchment nature area. The boardwalk which hugs the reservoir also allows for easy exploration of freshwater wildlife. The Ant plant (Macaranga bancana.) and pitcher plants are common in the area.

Boardwalk at MacRitchie Reservoir

Reservoir, boardwalk and running trail converge