South-west Singapore is relatively hilly terrain. Nothing to shout about in terms of height above sea-level, but as NUS students and staff will tell you, there is a reason why it is called Kent Ridge.
As a Pasir Panjang Guide, I was delighted to read that the bridges linking the Southern Ridges have been officially opened. Now, we have almost unobstructed access to the various parks in south-west Singapore thanks to the bridges which span Alexandra Road and Henderson Road respectively.
ST produced an excellent infographic (click on the image above to see it in its full glory) and an accompanying article, which can be found at Pasir Panjang Stories.
Blogging kaki Walter has already run up those hills!
Me, I’ll walk.
Infographic from Sunday Times p. 3, 11 May 2008.
sk
/ Wednesday, 14 May 2008Does anyone know which West Coast Park Carpark does the Southern Ridges starts from?
acroamatic
/ Wednesday, 14 May 2008Hi sk! From the map, it looks like Car Park 3, near the McDonalds.
Pristine
/ Tuesday, 1 July 2008I like to start my walk from Kent Ridge Park to Harbour Front. Appreciate your info, input and suggestions on the following?
1) Where is a good meeting point to start off from Kent Ridge Park which is accessible by public transport?
2) How far you reckon the distance between these two places? And the time required based on casual walk? We are hoping to do a 2-3 hours walk.
3) It appears quite complicated to find the links from one point to the next (my friends got lost and had to cut short their walk). What will be a good guide to find the various spots (like Canopy Walk, Floral Walk in HortPark, Alexandra Arch, Forest Walk, Hilltop Walk, Henderson Waves, Faber Walk and Marang Trail,etc before getting to our final destination at Harbour frount?
Thanks so much for your very informative account on your walk.
Warmest Regards,
Pristine
acroamatic
/ Tuesday, 1 July 2008Hi Pristine, you’re most welcome. To answer your questions:
1) By bus: Take SBS 200 from Buona Vista MRT (bus stop outside MOE). Stop outside the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI). Ask the bus driver if unsure.
The easier way is to just take a cab from around Buona Vista MRT station. Tell the cabbie, South Buona Vista Road and look out for the brown signboard indicating Kent Ridge Park. Then go up a steep road called Vigilante Drive. Go all the way in ’til you reach a big car park. You can start walking from there.
2) I really can’t tell how far it is. A very very rough guess would be about 4 to 5 km. On flat ground, that would be about an hour. But it’s hilly (nothing too strenuous), so I’d give it about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. After all, you would want to walk slowly, admire the view, breathe in the fresh(er) air and take photos. =)
3) Hmmm, it’s not that complicated, especially since you are skipping the West Coast-Clementi Woods-NUS-Science Park portion. Kent Ridge Park to HarbourFront is mostly under NParks, and they’ve got everything quite well sign-posted.
If you missed the links in the visual guide, do take a look at these:
Kent Ridge Park to HortPark
HortPark to Telok Blangah Hill Park via Alexandra Arch
Telok Blangah Hill Park to Mount Faber Park via Henderson Waves
Mount Faber Park to HarbourFront MRT
A few extra pointers:
1. At the end of Kent Ridge Park canopy walk turn right, head towards the condo. You will see a park map, then the stairs leading to the HortPark connector. Follow the trail to HortPark.
2. Floral Walk in HortPark: HortPark is more or less a straight line. It is very well sign-posted, so just follow the signs.
3. Alexandra Arch: After you exit HortPark, turn left and head out the car park. Walk a bit along that road and you will see the bridge very soon.
4. Hilltop Walk: Heheh… Alexandra Arch leads straight to the Hilltop Walk. Just don’t get off the Arch once you cross Alexandra Road.
5. Henderson Waves, Mount Faber, Marang Trail: Please refer to the visual guide links. Hard to explain these parts in words.
When all else fails, ask for help! Lots of people around, especially during weekends. And remember, if you get misoriented (you can’t really get lost – it’s not jungle) just think of it as part of the experience. =)
Pristine
/ Wednesday, 2 July 2008Thanks so much for taking time to provide such a comprehensive and detailed information. Really appreciate your effort and helpfulness.
In HK there are lots of clubs will organize and advertise their weekend walks of varying distant and difficulties all over HK. I wish there is something like that here.
Have a good day!
Chai Wei Jie
/ Tuesday, 9 December 2008Information of this website is useful.
Good!!!
Manoj Sugathan
/ Thursday, 11 December 2008Thanks to your article I did a Southern Ridges walk (well almost!) in the reverse direction. I thoroughly enjoyed the walk. It was an eye opener too. I never knew Singapore is so green.
I have posted some photos and a short write-up in my blog – http://masug.blogspot.com