New Year’s Day Bukit Timah Nature Reserve Hike

I love starting the year with an outdoor activity, so I was very pleased that we managed to arrange a hike at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve with some of the hub’s old friends.

We unexpectedly stumbled on a flying fox structure, on our way to Hindhede Quarry. The girls had fun trying it out.

Isn’t it beautiful? Our friend told us that when there’s heavy rain, a beautiful real waterfall can be seen!

I loved how the azure sky was reflected in the mirror-like water.

We saw some large terrapins and many fish in its clear depths too.

Next, we wanted to go on a track that would lead to some durian trees. Unfortunately, the entrance to that trail was closed that day. We tried to see if we could skirt around and still get to that spot, but couldn’t. We did manage to see an interesting small section of abandoned railway though.

Thereafter, we were off on the trail to conquer the summit of our nation’s tiny but tallest hill, which stands at a paltry 163.63 metres.

It was tiring to keep climbing up, but we saw some interesting sights along the way. Here’s a little pool with very clear water. We took the longest of the upward winding trails.

Can’t help but run our fingers through the clear, cool water.

And an interesting ‘cave’. When you first peer in, you’d think that there was an electric light at the back of the cave. But our friend who is an experienced trekker, told us that it is actually light streaming in from an opening in the quarry on the opposite side!

I loved the fact that though it was a sunshiny morning, it was so cool under the primary rainforest canopy. The sky was so blue.

We really have an exceedingly beautiful rainforest. The girls and I took some time to just admire the sunlight streaming through the leaves. We agreed that it was simply stunning, how it turned the leaves a gorgeous bright green. It is moments like these, just standing there and admiring the beauty of creation, that makes all the perspiration worthwhile.

We finally reached the summit, took some family and group photos, then made our rapid descent down. Our party was only too relieved that we wouldn’t have to trek back down the way we came. We took the more direct but steep tarmac route down.

It was pretty crowded that day, but it was also nice to know that many families had chosen to spend the first day of the new year outdoors.

The girls did really well, hiking through it all at a good pace. Proud of them!

By 1130am, my tracker clocked 60 stories! Wow, probably the most we’ve ever clocked in a morning.

Am glad that there are so many nature parks in Singapore. Truly a green lung in our garden city. Here’s the list from which we can choose our next park to trek through!

Have a splendid 2019, everyone!

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

NParks official website: https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/parks-and-nature-reserves/bukit-timah-nature-reserve