The Southern Ridges

That Singapore leads the way when it comes to uniting the city with nature, we discovered over the past few days. One of the most eye-catching projects in this regard is what we have in store for today. In 2002, work began on the necessary cycling and walking infrastructure to connect parks, gardens, hills, and forests that were scattered throughout the city. In this way, Singapore has created an impressive and diverse green space where walkers, cyclists, and local wildlife enjoy spending time. Once again, this is a beautiful project, only we will find that it has not been executed equally well everywhere.

Our discovery starts at Harbour Front. We are already familiar with the neighborhood as our adventure on Sentosa Island also started here the day before yesterday. Right by the metro station, the Marang Trail begins. The walk takes us up through the forest via many narrow stairs to the top of Mount Faber. In reality, that 'mountain' is just a hill of 94 meters. However, that is more than enough to enjoy a panoramic view of the city from the top. It is for that view that the summit of Mount Faber is popular with tourists. If you prefer not to climb 94 meters up the stairs, a cable car from Sentosa offers an alternative.

The walk continues through Mount Faber Park, a secondary rainforest. Here we start to see the first flaws in the fairy tale of The Southern Ridges. The park is cut through by a (thankfully quiet) road. Strangely, walkers have to navigate through bits of that road to get to other pieces of walking paths. This becomes a constant during our walk: the contrast between beautiful paths and sad city roads. Thankfully, the beautiful paths are in the majority.

A busy road, Henderson Road, separates Mount Faber Park from the adjacent Telok Blangah Hill Park. They have stylishly dealt with this obstacle by connecting the two parks with a beautiful futuristic pedestrian bridge. The Henderson Waves is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. We use the beautiful wavy structure to cross unobstructed, 36 meters above the ground.

The bridge leads to the Hilltop Walk, a short and unremarkable walk in Telok Blangah Park. What will stay with us, however, is the next part of the path. We find ourselves at the foot of the Forest Walk. Here, the walk continues via metal bridges among and above the treetops. We see birds flying at eye level through the forest. We regret that this stretch is only 1.3 kilometers long, but we enjoy every meter!

After the bridges of the Forest Walk seemed to give these little bunnies wings, we find ourselves back on the ground shortly after. Not for long though, as the next bridge is already there to take us to HortPark. The Alexandra Arch is a metal walking bridge that becomes so scorching in the sun that we fear our shoe soles might melt. Furthermore, this bridge is much less spectacular than the Henderson Waves. Not really impressive, and we could say the same about HortPark. We walk there via the Floral Walk, but from here it figuratively goes downhill. This is little more than a commercially landscaped green space in Singapore. In HortPark, you can see concept gardens and modern sculptures. Due to the chaotic structure and uninviting design, it doesn't come across well to us.

It doesn't improve when we continue walking via the Canopy Walk to Kent Ridge Park. The wide asphalt path interspersed with roads and the proximity of the city means we no longer truly feel like we are in nature. Our walk ends on a down note when we arrive at the buildings of a research institute. In this office area, we grab a drink at a bar and finally take the metro back to the city center.