When you start thinking of losing weight you want to adapt to an active lifestyle. To do so you start doing some yoga classes or join some gym etc.(Don’t worry this is not a weight loss blog post!!). For some people what work the most is hiking or walking trails, amidst nature, done over the weekend, with friends and as a challenge.Singapore offers amazing well maintained hiking, running, cycling and walking trails all over to keep the country fit. Bukit Timah trail for hiking in Singapore is one such trail which locals as well as tourists would enjoy.

On one such weekend fours of us decided to go hiking in Singapore. We decided  to do the Bukit Timah trail and climb the highest hill in Singapore at 163 m height. The place is a National reserve and  the forest on the hill has been a botanical collection ground for more than a century. It boasts some of  first known specimens of many species of Malayan plants. There are a wide variety of flora and fauna to observe and experience. We were lucky to see a small green colored snake, a small sized monitor lizard and a small animal of which I was not aware of the name, but it was merging so well with the barks of the tree that felt like a chameleon.

How to Reach Bukit Timah National Reserve:

Bukit Timah Nation Park is just 12 KMs away from the city and very accessible.

Cab is always an option, be it Grab or any of the local services.

However the nearest MRT is Beauty World MRT, which is on the Downtown line or Blue line.

The bus stop id is:42109 and there are many buses connecting the whole os Singapore to this place. Some of the bus number which come here are 67,75,170,184,852,961.

We had taken the blue line from Tampanies and it was simple 40 minutes connection to Beauty World MRT. Since we are not used to waking up early and going for a walking trail ( We did tree top walk one year back) out first stop was McDonald’s ( I am laughing while writing it as well). We had ‘light snacks’ ( I just had a tea , less guilty) and then after spending quality time eating and talking we felt more prepared for the walk.

There are 7 hiking  trails around Bukit Timah Singapore which can be taken. If you however start from the Beauty World MRT, the map shows four trails , two easy , one moderate and one difficult. We took the moderate one, South View Path (Demarcated in green) in the map near the base of the hill.This was one of the moderate trails in all the Bukit Timah trails. There are so many good places all around for hiking in Singapore and for having a good weekend.

But for more information here are the seven trails around Bukit Timah trail which is in  our list for completion as well.

1. Dairy Farm Nature Park –

Difficult level: Difficult              Wallace Trail: 40 mins

Dairy farm loop: 1.5 hrs             Dairy Farm path: 1.5 hrs.

2. Zhenghua Nature Park-

Difficulty Level: Easy                 Trail:2.5 Kms.

3.Chestnut Nature Park –

Difficulty level: Moderate           Opening Hours: 7 AM to 7 PM.

4. Bukit Timah Trail – 

Difficult Level : You can choose from different trails.

Moderate takes 2-3 hours.

5.Kampong Trail –

Difficulty Level: Hard (3-4 hours)                 Opening Hours: 7 AM to 7 PM.

6. Hindhede Nature Park –

Difficulty Level: Very Easy  (30 mins)           Opening Hours: 7 AM to 6 PM.

7. Green Corridor or the Rail Corridor –

Difficulty Level : Moderate (1-2 hrs) – Walking from Truss Bridge at Rail Mall to Bukit Timah Railway Station

So these are the trails we plan to plan over the coming weekends for an active lifestyle. Coming back to the moderate trail we did in the Bukit Timah National  park.The  South View Path was a nice trek and had beautiful flora and fauna to enjoy on its path. However to be very honest the trail was full of stairs and though it was faster to reach the Bukit Timah hill, it was a difficult hike up. The stairs are quite big and thanks go for the support on the sides. My group was fitter than me but I was not about to give up.

Slowly making my way, with the side support, a littles rests in between and small sips of water or pokari support ensures that I do not give up. The Bukit Timah trail is  beautiful and one thing to notice was even though there were stairs constructed the trees had not been harmed and roots and concrete and mixed together. The trees are quite dense and so even though it was hot outside, the trails were well shaded and did not have direct sun. One more suggestion would be to buy hiking poles for support as its good sometimes and you dont tire so much.Buy one now:

We reached the hilltop and there were so many people resting there, we took a mandatory photo with the stone which proves that we had reached the summit of the highest hill in Singapore. For the path below we selected the trail road instead of the stairs and that was easier though it was quite steep. The whole walking took almost 1hr 45 mins and we felt great after finishing it.

We were quite hungry after the walk and was thinking of good food. We went to Murugan Idli near Jalan Besar Rd and believe me when I tell you had one of the most amazing South- Indian food in Singapore. A well deserved and delicious lunch we went back home , feeling very proud and happy.

Have you been Henderson Waves? If you like walking and want wonderful views and want to appreciate architecture go to Henderson waves. Read more about it here How to get to Henderson Waves, Singapore?

If you are planning to visit Singapore and want to see one of the best view possible of the famous Singapore skyline , do plan a visit to Marina Barrage. Best View of Singapore at Marina Barrage Singapore!

And for all your travel hotel bookings go to Booking.com