Labrador Nature Reserve

Sailors found Singapore by a rock for 500 years. The British decided it was in the way.

Labrador is for history-minded walkers who don't mind hills or mosquitoes: a short, steep walk with a Victorian fort, wartime gun positions and the only publicly accessible rocky sea cliff on the mainland. The catch is the closures. NParks lists the Berlayar Creek boardwalk as closed for improvement works until 31 March 2027, and other parts of the reserve are restricted, so check the current map, start on the Keppel Coastal Trail and end at the water.

Begin with the rock, because the reserve's oldest story is about something that isn't there any more. The traveller Wang Dayuan recorded Long Ya Men, the Dragon's Teeth Gate, in 1330; it steered ships into these waters through the 14th and 15th centuries, until the British blew it up in 1848 to widen the channel into Keppel Harbour. The six-metre version by the water is a replica, installed in 2005 to mark 600 years since Admiral Zheng He's first voyage. It stands beside the old Berlayar Beacon only because conservation groups, the Singapore Heritage Society among them, appealed to keep the beacon where it was.

The fort is the second reason to come. Fort Pasir Panjang was one of 11 coastal forts on the southern shore and among the most heavily fortified, with a mixed garrison: Malay soldiers on the searchlights, Indian troops on the guns, British officers in charge. NParks lists what remains: an 1886 casemate built as an ammunition store, the brick wall of the old fort gate where an iron portcullis once blocked the sea entrance, machine-gun pillboxes, and tunnels unearthed in 2001 that open only on NParks tours. Read the signboards on your own and save the tunnels for a guided visit.

The war chapter is the familiar Singapore one, told from the seaward side. Two six-inch guns at Labrador Battery guarded the entrance to Keppel Harbour. When the Japanese came overland from the north, the guns still supported the Malay Regiment at the Battle of Pasir Panjang, and they were destroyed when Singapore fell. A six-inch gun barrel found at the former Beach Road Camp in 2001 now stands in their place. The land has had a bumpy ride too: made a nature reserve in 1951, downgraded in 1973 for reasons nobody seems sure of, then gazetted as a reserve again in 2002.

Now the practical part. Parts of the reserve have been closed for slope works since 2023, and NParks lists the Casemate and Rocky Shore as shut for safety, so older guides that start at the mangrove boardwalk will walk you to a closed gate. The Keppel Coastal Trail is the better bet anyway: an elevated, wheelchair-accessible boardwalk with sea views through coastal forest that is being restored. The reserve trail itself is hilly, with stairs, so leave the stroller at home.

Bring repellent and a full bottle, since drinking water is scarce, and keep an eye out for oriental magpie-robins, black-naped orioles and plantain squirrels. Take the history slowly and finish at the jetty, where the view takes in the forest, the dragon's tooth and, less romantically, the port cranes (Keppel Harbour is still very much at work, which is rather the point of the whole story).

Good to know The park is open 24 hours and the nature reserve section 7am–7pm, near Labrador Park MRT. The Berlayar Creek boardwalk is closed until 31 March 2027, and other reserve sections remain restricted, so check NParks' current map and closure notices. Pets aren't allowed in the reserve, and cycling and drones are prohibited.

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Labrador Nature Reserve | Along Labrador Villa Road | Nearest MRT: Labrador Park