Henderson Waves

Engineers designed loitering into a bridge. Take them up on it.

Henderson Waves is the best free sunset seat in the south, and worth the climb as long as you plan to sit down when you get there. Come for the last hour of daylight, stay for the lights, then walk on along the ridges or back down. The compromise is that every approach is uphill, so bring water and proper shoes.

The bridge runs 274 metres between Mount Faber Park and Telok Blangah Hill Park, 36 metres above the cars on Henderson Road, which makes it the tallest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. Its deck rises and falls through seven curving ribs that lift off the walkway, roll overhead and drop back down, and under each curve there is a shaded alcove with seating. Somebody, in other words, got a bench past the engineers seven times. The ribs are steel and the deck is yellow balau timber, which is a kinder thing to walk on than the concrete you came up.

It came out of an Urban Redevelopment Authority design competition, won by RSP Architects Planners & Engineers with IJP Architects. Construction started in September 2006, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong opened it on 10 May 2008, and a few months later it was shortlisted in the transport category at the first World Architecture Festival awards. One older piece of history is worth looking for. At the Mount Faber Plaza end, by the start of the bridge, NParks planted a nutmeg tree as a reminder that these hills were once a nutmeg plantation: before the ridges were for weekend joggers and wedding shoots, they were farmland.

Treat the bridge as one link rather than the whole outing. The Southern Ridges, proposed in 2002, string about 10km of trails across Mount Faber, Telok Blangah Hill and Kent Ridge. Head west and you reach the elevated Forest Walk, which climbs between three and 18 metres up through secondary forest, then the tilted Alexandra Arch on the way to HortPark. Henderson Waves is the showpiece; the walk either side is what earns you dinner.

Timing is the main decision. NParks suggests the morning, while it's still cool, or the evening, when LED lights pick out the curves from 7pm until 2am. We'd take the last hour of daylight: the view first, then the glow, then a slow walk down. Telok Blangah is the nearest MRT station, but every route up involves a climb, so save your energy for the bridge rather than the approach. When you stop in an alcove, keep clear of the deck for the people still walking.

It works for a cheap date, out-of-town guests, a solo reset or children with decent legs. Come for the photo if you must. You'll stay for the sitting down.

Good to know Telok Blangah MRT is the closest station, but every approach involves a climb. Check NParks for any Southern Ridges trail works before planning a longer route, and wear proper walking shoes.

Henderson Waves is one link in a longer green walk. For more like it, here are our ideas for a greener weekend…

Henderson Waves | Telok Blangah Hill Park, Telok Blangah Green, off Henderson Road | Nearest MRT: Telok Blangah