After a lovely little weekend, it was time for Mr Travelling Han (MTH) to head back to work, meaning I had an entire week to solo explore (or just relax) as took my fancy. I decided to focus on getting out in nature and exploring away from the main tourist centre of the city. So it’s time to take you on some local nature hikes!
Let’s start one of my favourite walks in Singapore; the wonderful MacRitchie Treetop Walk. This is one of my favourites if you want something a bit different, with interesting nature trails, lots of wildlife on show and some beautiful treetop suspension bridges with views out over the canopy.
MacRitchie Treetop Hiking Information
- The full hike is 7km, and hiking it will take between 2-3 hours depending on pace and number of stops for photos. This assumes you follow the orange route (route 6) on the map below, as I did.
- Windsor Park, in which the walk sits, is open 7am-7pm, however the treetop walk itself is only open 9am-5pm.
- I completed this hike solo and had no issues; I didn’t get lost, it’s well signed, and I never felt unsafe even in parts of the trail where I was alone in thick rainforest.
- There is nowhere to eat or drink along the trail, so ensure you have plenty of water (and food if you need it) with you.
- Wear comfortable shoes and sensible clothing. Wear suncream and insect repellant.
- The walk terrain is largely boardwalks/clearly marked trails so is easy to follow. There are some sections of steep incline and steps which some walkers may find challenging depending on fitness levels. Overall the walk is rated moderate to difficult by Singapore National Parks.
- The entire walk, including the treetop bridge, is free.
- To get to the walk, you can either:
- Drive: Park at Venus Drive Car Park
- Taxi/Grab: Use the Grab App to order a taxi to drop you off at the same point
- MRT: Take the MRT train brown line to Bright Hill, from where it’s a 15 minute walk to the start of the walk on Venus Drive.
- Do not complete this walk if you have a fear of heights.
Important: The treetop walk is closed on a Monday.
Top Tip: Start early, ideally before 8-8.30am, to beat the heat. This means you will do the first section of the hike and arrive at the treetop walk as it opens; also meaning you will likely have the bridge to yourself.
MacRitchie Treetop Hike Map
There are numerous walking routes around the Nature Parks in the area. I chose to follow the orange route (route 6), which is what this write up covers.
What is the MacRitchie Treetop walk?
The Treetop Walk sits across two linked parks – Nature Windsor Park and the MacRitchie Reservoir Park, part of the Central Catchment rainforest. This means it’s beautiful and green, full of wildlife and easy to extend across multiple other parks and walks.
The MacRitchie treetop walk is well worth it, as if offers something unique in Singapore – a 250m suspension bridge about 25m above ground with gorgeous views out across the canopy. It’s just beautiful and a great way to escape the city.
The only catch is that it’s not a quick stop; you have to earn it with a hike. This means you will need at least half a day allocated if you want to complete this walk.
Important: You will see wild monkeys during your walk. Please do NOT feed them, or carry food as they may make a move for it which can be dangerous.
MacRitchie Treetop Walk Route Overview
Venus Loop and Venus Link
From the Venus Drive Entrance, pass the visitor pavilion and head over the board walk to the Hanguana Trail (side note, I don’t know why but every time I walked past a sign saying Hanguana, all I could think of was me as an Iguana and it made me laugh). This section of the trail is absolutely beautiful and the treetop walk is clearly signed as you walk along it. The area is full of wetlands overlooked by glorious rainforest, and the boardwalks have the most beautiful views as you walk through them.
I saw so much wildlife in this section including monkies right at the entrance, lots of birds and dragonflies. It’s such a beautiful start to the walk!
Overall this section is around 1km.
Squirrel Trail and Drongo Trail
The path naturally follows around and becomes the Squirrel Trail, which is signposted treetop walk so you can’t go wrong. And I can confirm – I did see a squirrel! This trail takes you parallel with the road and there isn’t a huge amount of interest as it’s just a mild incline on a normal track.
If you want to continue along on a boardwalk, then take the Drongo Trail instead. It brings you out to the same point. However, you do have to come back this way – so I decided to go Squirrel out and Drongo back, which is what the signs point you in!
Overall this section is around 0.5km.
Pierce Track
As you exit Windsor Nature Park and enter the Central Catchment Nature Reserve,
you will pass by the MacRitchie Nature Trail junction. You can continue straight
along the shorter paved road (which is down some steps) or explore the more shaded Terentang Trail to your left. The signs to the treetop walk take you the more direct route.
After hitting a road, then turning in to more woodland, and walking for a while through that, you will come out at Ranger Station, the only rest stop offering restroom facilities and a water cooler within the nature reserve. So stop if you need to!
After the rest stop you continue on up the Pierce Track, up a steep incline on a paved track to the entrance to the treetop walk on your left. It is all well signed and you can’t miss it.
Overall this section is around 1.6km, and the hardest of the walk.
Treetop Walk
Oh now it gets exciting! The treetop walk is absolutely STUNNING and is across a cool 250m long suspension bridge (which does wobble; so don’t do this if you’ll panic)! The views are INCREDIBLE and it’s just such a beautiful place. Definitely worth the hike to get there!
Important: Once you enter the treetop walk you cannot turn back, as a one way system is in place.
Overall this section is around 0.2km.
Petaling Boardwalk
Another of my favourite parts of the walk was the beautiful Petaling Boardwalk which you reach straight off the treetop walk. It essentially does a loop surrounded by rainforest. It’s here I saw lots of beautiful tiny blue butterflies and I kept stopping just to watch them. There are also information boards as you go along, and four rest stops – Tempines Hut, Medang Hut, Macaranga Hut, and Petaling Hut – which offer tranquil spots for observing the surrounding biodiversity (and to have a drink and a rest!).
Overall this section is around 1.2km.
Important: From this section, you now want to follow the signs to “Venus Drive Carpark” to get back to your start point.
Sime Track
The Petaling Boardwalk brings you out at Petaling Hut, on the Sime Track. You turn left to start looping back to your start point at Venus drive. The path is a wide walkway and if you feel you want to extend your walk, or not end up doubling back on yourself by ending up in a different place than you started, you could turn right and follow the yellow trail to Jelutong Tower and the MacRitchie Reservoir, or take the pink trail to link up with Rifle Range Park and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.
I stayed on the left hand track towards Venus Drive car park, and this lead me back to the Ranger Station (with the toilets and water cooler) on the Pierce Track.
Overall this section is around 0.5km.
Retrace your steps along the Pierce Track/Drongo Trail/Venus Link
You’re now back at a familiar point and you can continue to follow the signs to Venus Drive Carpark, back along the way you came. The hardest section is the steps along the Pierce Track which you walked down to get to the treetop walk and now have to walk back up! They’re a bit of a killer at the end of the walk! I had done the Squirrel Trail there and enjoyed the Drongo Trail back – I saw lots of monkeys and they were very comfortable with humans around.
Overall this section is around 2km.
And that’s a wrap on the Treetop walk. At the end I have to confess I was absolutely sweating and I went early morning on a cloudy day. Doing it in the heat of the day would be impossible and all I wanted to do was glug back a massive bottle of water and have a shower – which is exactly what I did afterwards! It’s such a beautiful walk though and I’d highly recommend it if you have time whilst in Singapore.
What do you think of the MacRitchie Treetop walk? Let me know what you think in the comments below, and as always stay safe and happy travelling!
Enjoyed this? Check out more of my Singapore posts!
- Singapore 2 Day Itinerary HERE
- Singapore Layover Guide HERE
- Free things to do in Singapore HERE (coming soon)
- Gardens by the Bay HERE
- Singapore Botanic Gardens HERE
- Mount Faber & The Southern Ridges Walk HERE
- Singapore’s Best Gardens HERE
- Singapore’s WW2 history HERE
- Jurong Lake Gardens HERE
- Rail Corridor Walking Guide HERE
- Bukit Timah Nature Reserve HERE
- Singapore Museums HERE (coming soon)
- Civic District Area Guide HERE
- Sentosa Area Guide HERE (coming soon)
- Chinatown Area Guide HERE (coming soon)
- Marina Bay Area Guide HERE (coming soon)
- Bukit Timah Area Guide HERE (coming soon)
- Hotel Reviews: Raffles Singapore HERE, Conrad Marina Bay HERE, The Clan Hotel HERE (coming soon)
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