Southern Ridges Hike

By Tom · Published Oct. 26th, 2021 · Updated Oct. 1st, 2023

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Escape the city bustle and walk along the green Southern Ridges. This Southern Ridges loop hike takes you up Mount Faber, via Henderson Waves and Telok Blangah Hill to Kent Ridge Park and finishes with a visit to Labrador park at the coast.

Location

The hike starts and finishes at the HarbourFront Centre. Get there via the MRT or one of the many buses. The Marang trail, which is the first part of the hike, starts at the MRT Exit D.

Southern Ridges Trail Map

Get the route by downloading the .gpx file below.

Marang Trail

The hike starts with a large uphill, the Marang Trail, so it’s a good idea to start early when it’s still relatively cool. A paved path with steps winds its way up through the jungle and you can see a few nice-looking colonial villas visible from the path.

Mount Faber Park

Eventually, the Marang Trail reaches the road that traverses the ridge in Mount Faber Park. The views from here are quite good and there are a lot of pretty flowers along the way. Turn left and take a smaller path on the left-hand side of the road towards the cable station. If you want to visit Sentosa Island, you can take the cable car from here.

A bit further along the road, there is a good viewpoint on the right of the city skyline. The views get even better when you head to Faber Point, the highest point on the Southern Ridges hike. You can spot Sentosa Island on the left-hand side, covered in trees.

Below the viewpoint are copper murals depicting the story of Singapore from its past till now. It is definitely worth a look and as an added bonus it is nice and shady. There is also a baby Merlion at Faber Point, although still reaching 3 meters in height. Head to the top for 360-degree views of Singapore.

From Faber Point, walk onwards to Henderson Waves. This section of the park has quite a jungle vibe and you can spot some interesting fungi along the way.

Henderson Waves is a very convenient pedestrian bridge to Telok Blangah Hill Park, saving you from having to cross the busy Henderson road. It is apparently the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore, but most striking is its unique wavy design made from wood and steel.

Telok Blangah Hill Park

Across the Henderson Waves Bridge, you reach Telok Blangah Hill Park. A path takes you down to the road inside the park. If you are already looking for a break at a fancy café, head over to the Alkaff Mansion on the right. It’s a great place for a cup of tea in the pleasant gardens.

Where the road splits, make sure to take the steps up to the Beautiful Terrace Garden. Various steps and semi-circular terraces take you up to the highest point in this park.

The main attraction of Telok Blangah Hill Park is the Forest Walk, an elevated walkway taking you through the canopy of the forest with some interesting interpretive boards. The alternative Earth Trail below did not seem to be very popular. The Forest Walk ends at Alexandria Arch, another nicely designed pedestrian bridge.

HortPark

HortPark is not like your usual park. It is a gardening resource hub and a knowledge centre on plants and gardening, where you can get active and do some gardening yourself. The different types of gardens are also interesting to wander through.

Walking through HortPark is a convenient connector between Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park. There is an alternative route avoiding HortPark via Hyderabad road which you can take on the way back.

Kent Ridge Park

From HortPark there is a convenient connecting path taking you up to Kent Ridge. If you have time to spare, you can visit Reflections at Bukit Chandu. This war museum in a restored colonial bungalow commemorates the Battle of Opium Hill (Bukit Chandu in Malay) in the Second World War. It’s an interesting little museum, open every day apart from Mondays.

From the top of the ridge another raised walkway starts, called the Canopy Walk. Stroll along the canopy walk, looking out for birds along the way. There are a couple of interpretive boards and viewpoints along the way and a few shelters in case it starts raining.

The final destination in Kent Ridge Park is the pond. To get there, you follow the path along the main road over the ridge and go straight when the road turns left. This path and some steps will take you down to the Kent Ridge Pond. Despite the nearby building works, the pond is quite a tranquil place.

After inspecting the pond, make your way back through Kent Ridge Park. Instead of repeating your steps, this time take Hyderabad road instead of going through HortPark. On this tree-lined road, you will see some old colonial bungalows in black and white style. The road ends at the Alexandria Arch, which you can take again to cross the road.

Labrador Nature Reserve

On the other side of the road, you can pick up the Alexandra Garden Trail that heads towards Labrador Nature Reserve. It is a combined bicycle and pedestrian walkway along a busy road but with some nice greenery.

By this time it might be mid to late morning and getting hot. Fortunately, there is some shade along the way, but not all the way. Luckily, once you make it to Labrador Nature Reserve there’s dense tree cover giving you plenty of shade. However, there is also a bit of uphill. There are some cool old defensive structures here and guns on the ridge before, melting into the jungle. After exploring these, head down towards the seaside.

The seaside part of the Labrador Nature Reserve is rather different from the ridge. It is quite open with some trees for shade and lots of benches. A broad walkway lines the coast, and at the very western end, there is a jetty overlooking the container port.

There are some water points in the park in case you need to fill up, and it’s a great place to eat your lunch. From the park, take the coastal path towards the east. Even here you will find some war remains like a bunker in the middle of a playground, quite eerie.

At some point, you’ll pass a replica of the Dragon’s Teeth Gate, a stone pillar that once formed one side of the entrance to the harbour. A bit further, the Bukit Chermin Boardwalk starts, taking you to the luxury waterfront complex Reflections by the Bay. You can spot some very expensive-looking yachts here, as well as a very nice-looking colonial villa (30 Bukit Chermin).

From here, walk back to Harbour Front MRT, the end of the hiking along the Southern Ridges.

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For more hiking ideas in Singapore, check out our Sentosa Island Hike, Coney Island Hike, Pulau Ubin Hike, or find many more hikes on our Singapore Hiking Page.