Sentosa Hike

By Tom · Published Oct. 27th, 2021 · Updated Nov. 28th, 2022

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Get away from the amusement parks and shopping malls and explore a different side of Sentosa. This hike on Sentosa Island takes you from HarbourFront, via the beaches and Siloso beach walk, to Imbiah lookout. A swim halfway and at the end is of course included.

Location

The hike to Sentosa starts at the back side of Harbour Front / VivoCity. Get there via the MRT or one of the many buses. We finished the hike along the Siloso beach walk and took the free shuttle bus and Sentosa Express monorail back to HarbourFront.

Sentosa Hiking Trail Map

Get the route by downloading the .gpx or .kml file below. For navigation with Maps.me on your mobile phone, simply download the .kml file and open to add it to the Maps.me bookmarks.

Hike on Sentosa Boardwalk

The Sentosa Hike starts along the boardwalk from Harbour Front MRT station. This is a rather convenient walkway with quite some shade and even a travellator if you already feel tired. The Sentosa Boardwalk covers a distance of 600 meters. There are beautiful flowers and some art along the way, as well as some good views of the Singapore coastline. An alternative way to reach the island is via the Sentosa Cable Car, which gives you great views on the way over.

The boardwalk ends at the shopping mall/amusement park/casino and you have to make your way through there to get to Sentosa’s more natural side. One of the best things to do on Sentosa Island apart from hiking is to visit the SEA Aquarium*, in the centre of this area. It’s a good idea to hike in the morning and visit the Aquarium in the afternoon when it’s normally much hotter. To continue on the trail, follow the signs to Imbiah Lookout.

Continue on walks through the shopping and hotel area, and head out to the Sentosa Beaches.

Siloso Beach Walk

Once at the beach, you can go for an early swim at Emerald Pavilion. Despite the views of big container and oil ships, the water is very pleasantly warm, especially compared to the Western Cape in South Africa where we came from before Singapore.

After a swim and break, follow the Siloso Beach walk past the Sapphire Pavilion to the other end of the Imbiah Trail. There are two interesting things to see along the way, the freshwater Siloso spring and a mini bunker.

Both are signs of the past, as the spring was once at the shoreline before land reclamation and the bunker is one of the many military artefacts from when Sentosa was called Pulau Belakang Mati and this side of the island was part of Fort Siloso.

Imbiah Trail

The Imbiah Trail is a rather broad asphalted path leading you up the hill through the forest. There are remnants of an old monorail along the way, and you might spot some monkeys as well. Near the top, head left on a nicer forest path to the Imbiah and Tempinis Falls. These falls sound larger than they actually are so don’t get your hopes up too much.

There is an interesting tunnel of whale bones on this path, but also a somewhat more tacky dragon spewing water. This path takes you eventually to the road that leads up to the Imbiah Lookout. Turn left and immediately hike up the steps on the right that will lead you to the Imbiah Fort and the second highest point on Sentosa.

You can also cycle on the Imbiah Trail and along many of the paths on Sentosa Island.

Make sure to go on an exploration of the fort, as there are a few ruins in the jungle directly off the main path. The Mount Imbiah Gun Battery dates from the 1890s and was used until the 1930s when it became a reserve magazine.

Just behind the defensive structures is the Imbiah Lookout Tower. From the top, you can just look over the tree tops that have since grown here. Many islands and even more ships are visible from here.

After a well-deserved break, we took a different path down to the Tempinis Falls and from there down to Siloso Road and the entrance of Fort Siloso.

Coastal Trail

The Coastal Trail officially starts at the bus station at the end of Siloso Road, but you can extend it by walking towards Fort Siloso first. Just before the roundabout and the official entrance to the fort, you turn right down some steps. There, you’ll find a path along the coastline with some forest and open grassy sections.

After passing a few totem poles, the path veers right and upwards. Unfortunately, some of the trails shown on Maps.me are not open right now so the only option is to follow the path back to the bus station.

From there, walk to Sapphire Pavilion for a well-deserved second swim and the end of this Sentosa hike.

If you still have energy, you can rent a kayak or paddleboard* from Ola Beach Club, a little bit further down the beach towards the Sentosa Express monorail. Or, to get back to the mainland, there are convenient but somewhat slow free shuttles that will take you to the monorail Beach Station. From there the monorail took will take you back to HarbourFront, in less than half an hour from the beach to MRT. Back at Vivocity and the MRT, reward yourself with some seafood at Dancing Crab* before heading home.

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If you’re looking for another hike in Singapore, check out our Southern Ridges Hike, Coney Island Hike, Pulau Ubin Hike, or find many more hikes on our Singapore Hiking Page.