Made up of a series of parks and hills connecting West Coast Park to Mt Faber, the Southern Ridges will have you walking through the jungle without ever really leaving the city. While the entire route spans 9km, the best stretch is from Kent Ridge Park to Mt Faber. Not only is it relatively easy, this 4km section offers forest-canopy walkways, lofty skyline vistas, and the chance to cross the spectacular Henderson Waves, an undulating pedestrian bridge suspended 36m above the ground.
Alight from the MRT at Pasir Panjang station, from where Kent Ridge Park is a steep but manageable 800m walk up Pepys Rd. At the top of the hill is the small yet fascinating war museum Reflections at Bukit Chandu. Directly beyond it is Kent Ridge Park and its short forest-canopy walk. The idyllic leafy shade of Kent Ridge quickly gives way to the themed gardens and prototype glasshouses of HortPark. The park is also home to a children's playground, drinking fountains, restrooms and a nursery-cafe.
Cross the leaf-like Alexander Arch bridge from HortPark to the impressive Forest Walk, offering eye-level views of the jungle canopy carpeting Telok Blangah Hill. The walkway eventually leads to Telok Blangah Hill Park, with its flower-filled terrace garden, and further along to the sculptural Henderson Waves pedestrian bridge. The shard-like towers you can see rising above the forest canopy form part of Reflections at Keppel Bay, a residential development designed by starchitect Daniel Libeskind.
The final 550m to the summit of Mt Faber is a short but reasonably steep climb rewarded with fine city views (skip the average eateries). The cable car connecting Mt Faber to HarbourFront mall and MRT, and on to Sentosa Island is exorbitantly priced (adult/child return S$29/18) – consider grabbing a taxi instead (expect to pay around S$7 to HarbourFront).
