A greener weekend: six places that used to be something else

Very little green space in Singapore started out green. Knowing what it used to be makes the walk better.

If you only do one this weekend, make it Sungei Buloh: the migratory birds are in from about August to April, so October is squarely in season. For a shaded morning that needs no planning, the Botanic Gardens; for a bridge and a view, Henderson Waves after 7pm. The catch with all six is the closure list, which is long, so check NParks before you set off and don’t trust an itinerary you saved a while ago.

Singapore Botanic Gardens: the default, for good reason

Founded in 1859 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015, and not only for its looks: UNESCO credits it as a centre of plant research since 1875, including the work that helped spread plantation rubber across Southeast Asia. Walk it as a history of usefulness that turned into beauty. The National Orchid Garden inside adds the Tan Hoon Siang Mist House, the Sembcorp Cool House and the Secret Ravine. Go early, before the heat sets in; if you leave it late, the Cool House is where you will end up anyway.

Jurong Lake Gardens: the west’s own

NParks calls it Singapore’s third national garden and the first in the heartlands: 90 hectares across Lakeside Garden, the Chinese and Japanese Gardens and a Garden Promenade. The Chinese and Japanese Gardens, first built in the 1970s, reopened in September 2024 after a long renovation that kept the Twin Pagodas and the Stone Boat. Choose it if you live in the west, or if you want pagodas and a lake more than a trail. Clusia Cove and the Chinese Garden’s Waterwall Court are shut for maintenance, so plan around them.

Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park: the drain that learned to meander

The best plot twist of the six. The Kallang River ran along the park’s edge as a concrete canal until a redesign led by PUB and NParks turned it into a meandering, naturalised river, and the park reopened in 2012. NParks counts more than 90 bird species and over 30 butterfly species across its 62 hectares, which is a lot of wildlife for a park in the middle of the heartland. It suits a slow Sunday stroll, but two bridges are closed for improvement works until December 2026, so work out which bank you need before you start.

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve: in season now

NParks says migratory birds stop over from about August to April, some having flown from as far as the Arctic, and the 1.95km Migratory Bird Trail is where to watch them. The mangrove boardwalk adds mudskippers, monitor lizards and crabs. Saltwater crocodiles are occasionally seen in the reserve, so stay on the trails and keep your distance (this is the one walk where nobody argues about sticking to the path). Free guided walks run on Saturday mornings by registration and are cancelled if it rains, so register, then watch the forecast.

Henderson Waves: an engineering walk with a view

Strictly, this is architecture with trees around it, and it is the pick for a view rather than for wildlife. Opened in 2008, the 274-metre bridge rides 36 metres above Henderson Road, and NParks calls it the tallest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. Its wooden ribs curl into shaded alcoves along the Southern Ridges. Start at Mount Faber, where a nutmeg tree recalls the hill’s plantation past, and time it for the cool of the morning or for after 7pm, when the LEDs come on.

Labrador Nature Reserve: a fort by the sea, partly shut

The headland was a British coastal artillery fort, and WWII relics remain around the reserve. Look too for the replica Dragon’s Teeth Gate, standing in for the original rock that was blasted away in 1848 to widen the channel for shipping. NParks calls its rocky sea cliff the only publicly accessible one on the mainland, but the Casemate and Rocky Shore are closed for safety and the Berlayar Creek boardwalk is shut until 31 March 2027. That takes out much of what makes Labrador worth the trip, so for now treat it as a short history walk, not a full morning.

Whichever you pick, take the shorter route and stop when something catches your eye. A greener weekend works at walking pace, not step-count pace.

Good to know Several routes have closures: Labrador’s Berlayar Creek boardwalk is shut until 31 March 2027, two Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park bridges are closed until December 2026, and parts of Jurong Lake Gardens are under maintenance. Sungei Buloh’s Saturday guided walks need registration and are cancelled if it rains. Check NParks notices and bring water.

More fresh air, a little further from the usual paths…