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MacRitchie Reservoir Singapore

Our escapade to MacRitchie Reservoir was our first experience of the rainforest we have done so far, since living so close to the equator. The 100 ha natural park is “a beautiful green island” located in the heart of the Singapore Island . It belongs to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve which retains one of the largest tracts of primary rainforest left in Singapore. Perfect to escape from crowded streets, city’s irritating noise, smelly cars and shopping malls full of shopping fans!

We got excited like small kids seeing monkeys jumping from one tree to another over our heads! Not that we have never seen these funny creatures – but never in their “natural” environment. And this is something really special ! After entering the park, the air humidity became hard to stand… at the same time, the intense, exotic smell of a rainforest, (so much different from the way our European trees smell ) was overwhelming, surprising and strange at the same time.. so this is how the jungle smells, we thought .

The Mac Ritchie Reservoir is probably the only place in the 100% tidy & super organised Singapore city where you can feel like getting lost is possible…. not that there are many tracks in the park to choose from, but there are not that many exits… only every couple kms. So what happened to us was: we missed one exit (thinking, we just take the next one whenever feeling tired) and it turned out that in order to arrive at the next one, we needed at least 2 hours of fast walk which was pretty…ok, really exhausting. ok…I admit, it was my idea not to take the first exit .

After all, our “walk in the jungle” took us over 4 hours, we made about 10kms by foot and were left with aching feet and feeling of satisfaction that we truelly explored this oasis of peace and nature hidden in the middle of bustling Asian metropolis. The MacRitchie Reservoir is definately a must see in Singapore.

Over 100 ha of primary forest still flourish in the Central Catchment Nature Reserve today, particularly around MacRitchie. Rubber trees, remnants of the plantations there in the 19th century, can still be seen along the fringes around MacRitchie. You’ll find boardwalks skirting the edge of the scenic MacRitchie Reservoir and walking trails through the forest. They range in distances from 3 km to 11 km, allowing nature lovers to experience as much or even as little of the nature reserves as they like. Interpretative signboards along the boardwalks reveal the mysteries of nature and allow for a self-guided tour along the fringes of the MacRitchie forest.[wildsingapore.com]