Singapore: Southern Ridge’s Henderson Waves and Forest Walk

I only have a map to guide me though the trial. It was for Hort Park but it also includes the trails on what Singapore calls the “Southern Ridges”. It is a 9km trail connecting different parks on the Southern Ridges of Singapore. From the country’s oldest park, Mt Faber I have to get to Telok Blangah Hill Park but first I have to cross this pedestrian bridge called Henderson Waves connecting both parks.

The Henderson Waves is another architectural wonder in Singapore with this bridge spanning 900-ft long. And at the height of 120 ft, it is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. On the side I could see 7 undulating steel waves stretching through the length of the bridge, I stepped on the wooden planks and felt how steady they were under my feet. It felt solid but I could feel the slight tremors when joggers pass by. There were small gaps between planks that a thin pen could slip through.

The alcoves formed by the waves are a nice place to hang out. I found myself staying at one for a while I wait for the sunset behind the city skylines of Singapore. I didn’t wait for the bridge to light up as I was gonna meet my friend somewhere on the other side of the trail.

Telok Balangah Hill Park is filled with joggers and runners. I noticed a lot of Singaporeans like to run and this Southern Ridge is a good place for its airy atmosphere. They would usually bring their cars leave their stuffs there and run the trails. I didn’t stop to take photos at Hilltop Walk but it has nice areas to make outdoor exercises fun along with nice terraced garden.

The trail becomes a lot more impressive when I saw the Forest Walk. It’s an elevated metal walkway cutting through the secondary forest of Telok Balangah. Its illuminated 1.3km walkway looks good at night and joggers seems delighted to go through this trail. It was a long walk and those with heights and vertigo problems should think twice since we could see through the metal walk way which is raised from 9-8ft to 59ft. On a good day I think this trail would be great for bird watching.

At the end of the trail is the Alexandra Arch, another result of a playful architect’s imagination. The bridge looks like an open leaf and at night its LED lights changes colours to the delight of the vehicles passing under it. The Alexandra Arch looks nice but it’s still basically a highly stylized short bridge leading to Hort Park and the Canopy Walk. I never did get past the bridge since it was already late. Maybe next time I go back to Singapore, I’ll visit the rest of the trail. I sure did like what they did here and hope to try to jog or run the trail as well.