Telok Blangah Hill Park

Once you cross the Henderson Waves, you'll reach Telok Blangah Hill Park nestled within the housing estate of Telok Blangah. If you are driving and want to head straight here, you should drive down Henderson Road (from Telok Blangah Road) and turn in at Telok Blangah Green. Car Park 1 is the closest parking spot to Henderson Waves.

As you walk up Telok Blangah Hill, you might find that it presents a different atmosphere to Mount Faber. While Mount Faber is touristy, this suburban park serves mostly locals with playgrounds and many fitness facilities for locals. In the mornings, you'll see many locals practising their swordplay or tai chi in the central clearing. The Terrace Gardens a series of terraces overlooks Telok Blangah.

Forest Walk

A very special feature of Telok Blangah Hill Park however is the Forest Walk which is a 1.3km long metallic structure that snakes its way up Telok Blangah Hill. The whole walk is void of steps and increases gradually in elevation from 3m to 18m as it cris-crosses up the hill. You can opt to walk up the Forest Walk (entrance is via a very small set of staircases from Telok Blangah estate), or walk down from the top (Nearest car park is Car Park 3 at the top of the hill).

As you walk up the sloping metal walkway you can gets a birds eye view of the secondary forest and if you're lucky, meet the monkey families who live there.

Alexandra Arch

The forest walk connects you to Alexandra Park which leads towards HortPark, an small open park with a different nature. Here you will see a profusion of flora as you walk down the cultivated plots of Floral Walk towards Gillman Village, a former British military camp now turned into a small community of restaurants, pubs and galleries.

From Alexandra Arch, you can walk up to the Relections of Bukit Chandu, a beautiful colonial building which is now converted to a World War II Memorial Museum. Take a quick walk to the building before proceeding on to Canopy Walk.

Canopy Walk

The entire walk is elevated 16m from the ground and you can get up close the local flora and fauna. The whole walk is disabled-friendly as there are no steps through the 280m walk which is sloped gently with many covered areas for short rests.

Kent Ridge Park

On the other end of Canopy Walk, you'll reach the end of the Southern Ridges trial, Kent Ridge Park which is a 47-hectare park with many nature trials through more secondary forest. Fitness enthusiasts can go wild here as well as it's the park with most number of fitness stations. 20 to be exact. The nearest car park to Kent Ridge Park is Car Park B at Pepys Road.

Travel Advisory

The Southern Ridges stretches just 9km, it should take at least a couple of hours to get through because of the beautiful scenery and winding roads. There is plenty of uphill and downhill walking to do, so be prepared with the right footwear. If it rains, some of the forest trials can get slippery but the beautiful views should more than make up for any inconveniences and don't forget to bring a camera.

Shelters, benches and other amenities are plentiful and many areas like the Forest Walk and Canopy Walk are disabled-friendly. There are many eateries along the way and the whole stretch is very well-maintained but for visitors who are not used to Singapore's hot and humid weather, it's advisable to bring sufficient water as well as insect repellent. The best time to visit would be in the early morning where you can see many local families taking their morning exercise at the various parks before the weather gets too hot.