Coast2Coast Trail CP 3 Bukit Batok Natural Park - Hindhede Drive (2020)

Coast2Coast Trail CP 3 Bukit Batok Natural Park - Hindhede Drive (2020)

The Coast-to-Coast Trail is a 36 km trail that spans across Singapore. Stretching from Jurong Lake Gardens in the west to Coney Island Park in the northeast, it will take users through a variety of parks, park connectors, nature areas, places of interest and urban spaces. Some of these include Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park in central Singapore, and Sengkang Riverside Park, in the northeast of our island.

CP 3

CP3 Hindhede Drive

Bukit Timah Park Connector/Bukit Timah Nature Reserve - Follow trails embedded within the Reserve, an ASEAN Heritage Park and one of the few primary rainforest areas in the country, or learn about the Reserve’s treasure trove of native biodiversity at the Visitor Centre.

Old KTM Railway Bridge (Rail Mall)

Old Bukit Timah Railway Station (Former KTM Intercity rail station) - It opened on the dismantled Tank Road mainline in 1903, was rebuilt on the current Singapore–Johor Bahru KTM Intercity mainline in 1932, until the Jurong Line shut down and it was a crossing loop station in the late 1940s until closure.

The station was a freight interchange for the now defunct Jurong Line (Jurong Freight Line) from 1965 to the early 1990s.

Bougainvillea Park (Junction of Dunearn Road and Watten Drive) - Bougainvillea Park is a serene little neighborhood park nestled in Watten estate.

Singapore Botanic Gardens - Established in 1859, the Singapore Botanic Gardens is the oldest garden in Singapore, and the only tropical garden to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Besides being an ornamental and recreational garden, it is also scientifically important.

 

Nassim Gate (Opening hours: 5am – 12am daily)

The Nassim Gate Visitor Centre showcases the best of Southeast Asian architecture and provides a welcome retreat for visitors after a long walk.

Evolution Garden - Take a journey through time, from the fiery beginnings of our planet to the first living organisms and gradually changing plant life on land. This 1.5-hectare garden offers displays designed to enrich and educate. Magnificent Tree Ferns & Cycads are the ‘Jurassic Park’ centrepiece here.

Symphony Lake & Palm Valley - The Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage sits on an islet in the middle of a lake and often hosts incredible orchestra performances. Pack a picnic bag, head over with the fam and enjoy the melodious sounds while basking in the beauty of nature.

Over 200 species of palm trees in assorted sizes are arranged in a herringbone pattern here. Look up to spot steams and leaves of all sorts – some are smooth, fan-shaped and feather-like.

Bukit Timah Gate - (Opening hours: 5am – 12am daily)

Access to the Singapore Botanic Gardens is extremely convenient with the extension of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system’s Circle Line (CCL) and Downtown Line (DTL) – literally next door to the Bukit Timah Gate.

Jacob Ballas Children's Garden - Nature-themed park for kids featuring interactive displays & activities, including a waterfall cave.

Eco-Garden and Eco-Lake - The Eco-Garden is a discovery garden of plants of economic importance through human history. The word ‘eco’ stands for both economic and ecological here. Trees, shrubs and herbs yielding a myriad of products from spices, dyes, resins and fibres to fruits and timbers are laid out across a spacious landscape.

Various plant groups like the bamboos, bougainvilleas, fruit trees and herbs and spices can be found here.

The sinuous shores of the peaceful Eco-Lake are home to a family of elegant Black Swans, from Western Australia, as well as other important plant and animal species. A beautiful setting coupled with a soft and natural atmosphere, it is an ideal place to wind down after a long day.

Ethnobotany Garden - The Ethnobotany Garden is located near the Eco Lake. It comprises of an outdoor garden showcasing over 300 species of plants that are deeply-seated into traditional cultures of Malay Archipelago, Indochina and South Asia; and a Centre for Ethnobotany. The outdoor garden comprises of 4 zones – Living, Craft and Construction, Symbolism and Medicinal, centered around a water-body. Visitors can learn about the various plants in each zone, and how they are used traditionally by indigenous communities of this region.

The Seed Bank - The Singapore Botanic Gardens Seed Bank is a conservation, research and education facility in the Singapore Botanic Gardens that focuses on conserving plant species by preserving the seeds and germplasm of plants in Southeast Asia. The Seed Bank has an interpretive gallery that introduces the Seed Bank and explains its importance to plant conservation and research in Singapore and the region, as well as a seed dispersal garden with seed sculptures showing the different seed dispersal mechanisms.

Trellis Garden - The Trellis Garden showcases the Singapore Botanic Gardens’ climber collection. Climbers are plants that require support in order to grow upwards to harvest sunlight. Twining vines twine around the host, while others climb using tendrils, thorns or hooks. Look out for the unique leaves and strange flower of the Pipe Vine, Aristolochia leuconeura from South America, and the beautiful flowers and foliage of Bauhinia semibifida, which is native to Singapore. Some are scrambling bushes with fragrant flowers such as Nyctanthes arbor-tristis are trained to climb the trellis. Many climbers attract wildlife such as butterflies and birds and in the forest they are often the super-highways, used to acces different parts of the canopy. A few are important to the ethnic communities in this region, such as Derris elliptica, which is traditionally used as an insecticide.

 Foliage Garden - The Foliage Garden will be a new and unique themed attraction at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The Foliage Garden extends a warm welcome to visitors with an extensive collection of terrestrial and aquatic foliage. It showcases a wide array of ornamental plants with colourful foliage of varying shapes and textures and demonstrates that the beauty and diversity of plants does not lie in their flowers alone.

Tyersall Gate (Opening hours: 5am – 12am daily)

The “Our Rainforest Heritage” mural at the Tyersall Gate Visitor Centre was designed by artist Eng Siak Loy who designed the Singapore Botanic Gardens stamp series as well as the Tanglin Gate.

National Orchid Garden - The National Orchid Garden is located on the highest hill in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Three hectares of carefully landscaped slopes provide a setting for over 1,000 species and 2,000 hybrids, with about 600 species and hybrids on display.

The Learning Forest - It is designed to integrate with the existing 6-hectare Rain Forest to form an enlarged forest habitat.

The Learning Forest features a network of boardwalks and elevated walkways that allow visitors to explore habitats ranging from a freshwater forest wetland to a lowland rainforest. Visitors can learn about freshwater forest wetland ecosystems at the Keppel Discovery Wetlands and walk amongst a collection of some of the tallest tree species in Southeast Asia at the SPH Walk of Giants.

Gallop Extension Gardens - Framed by landscapes composed of native plants and forests, the Gallop Extension contributes to the Gardens’ rich heritage and its role in research, conservation, education and recreation. As a natural extension of the Gardens’ nature area, which covers the Rain Forest and the Learning Forest, the Gallop Extension enables visitors to learn about forest ecology and the significance of conservation.

Tanglin Gate (Opening hours: 5am – 12am daily)

Entering the Main Gate (also known as Tanglin Gate), visitors will come upon the oldest part of the Gardens, established here at Tanglin in 1859.

Bandstand - The octagonal gazebo known as the Bandstand was erected in 1930 and has retained its original form over the years. The Bandstand site was initially just a small hill that stood at 33 m above sea level and was the highest point at the Tanglin Core site. This hill was levelled off around 1860s to serve as the site for regimental bands to perform surrounded by terraced flower beds and palms.Although no longer used for music performances, it is a favourite wedding photo spot and an iconic landmark of the Gardens.

One of the notable landscape features of the Bandstand today is the ring of Yellow Rain Trees (Samanea saman) surrounding it. The Rain Tree usually has light green foliage, but due to a mutation, some trees produced yellow leaves and some of these plants have been re-produced by cloning. The Yellow Rain Trees have been planted here for the enjoyment of visitors.

Swan Lake - It was constructed in 1866, shortly after the Gardens formation. It is considered to be the oldest ornamental water-feature in Singapore.

The Swan Lake is named as such because of a pair of beautiful mute swans from Amsterdam that glide gracefully across the lake. These swans never fail to thrill visitors.

Another iconic feature of the lake is the island with its large clump of Nibong palms (Oncosperma tigillarium) which were recorded to be planted here in 1891. The Swan Lake also serves as an important water point to supply water for the Gardens’ plants around the Tanglin Core.

SBG Heritage Museum - The 240sqm SBG Heritage Museum is located in Holttum Hall, which is next to Botany Centre in the Tanglin Core of the Gardens. Built in 1921 to serve as the Director of the Gardens' office and laboratory.

CDL Green Gallery - Developed and donated by CDL, the 314sqm CDL Green Gallery is a new eco-friendly building sited on Holttum Lawn. It is conceptualised as an extension of the Heritage Museum, and will feature botanical- or greening-related exhibits that will be changed every six to nine months.