Chestnut It is trails galore for hikers, mountain bikers and nature Nature Park Ride and hike enthusiasts at the Chestnut Nature Park which is almost as big as the Botanic Gardens and consists mostly of secondary forest. So put on your hiking shoes Central Catchment and mountain bike gear and head to the great outdoors. Nature Reserve Nature Reserve in this park

Singapore’s nature reserves constitute the bedrock of Springleaf Nature Park was opened and it became indulge their interests – a realisation of founding prime Observation Tower our biodiversity conservation strategy because nestled the first nature park to buer the Central minister Lee Kuan Yew’s vision that everyone should have (under construction) within them are key ecosystems such as tropical Catchment Nature Reserve. The opening of the access to a green environment for relaxation and recreation. rainforest and freshwater swamp forest. The Hindhede northern portion of Chestnut Nature Park in late It is also with nature parks like this that the continued Nature Park – opened in 2001 – is the first buer for February brings the total size of the park to 81ha. survival of native terrestrial flora and fauna in the nature the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. This was followed by The park’s oering of trails and tracks allows reserves – such as the Meranti, Keruing, banded leaf ’s opening in 2009. In 2014, nature lovers, hikers and mountain bikers to monkey and Sunda pangolin – can be secured.

BANGKIT ROAD WHY THE NEED FOR GREEN BUFFERS Buffer to:

Zhenghua • Reduce the number of visitors to nature reserves and Central Catchment Bukit Timah Park the accompanying physical stresses by giving people substitute venues to enjoy nature-related activities. Nature Reserve Nature Reserve Chestnut Bike Park NOTE: *Year of opening and park size refer to that which is after extension. TRACKS • Serve as ecological D Offers trails ranging ROA linkages between nature ANDAI TO EXPLORE M from “very difficult” reserves and forested areas. Springleaf Nature Park to “extremely difficult” Singapore • Size: 6ha Shelter for advanced riders • Facilitate the safe Zoo ROAD passage of animals BUKIT • Opened: Upper HIKING PANJANG among green spaces. BUKIT November 2014 CENTRAL TRAILS ROAD TIMAH CATCHMENT EXPRESSWAY Reservoir Reservoir Southern trail Chestnut Nature Park S NATURE EL ET (2.1km) • Size: 81ha AR E RESERVE XPRESSWAY Walking time: • Opened: About 45min DAIRY April 2016 (South); Central • Size: 50ha Zhenghua FARM FLYOVER February 2017 (North) Catchment • Opening: By the rst Nature trail Park Nature Reserve quarter of 2019 (1.5km) Walking time: ROAD About 30min Zhenghua Nature Park* Northern trail • Size: 17.3ha • Size: 75ha (2km) • Opened: November 2015 • Opened: April 2017 Walking time: Upper Peirce About 40min Reservoir Bukit Pump Track Dairy Farm Panjang Nature Park Island Golf Course MOUNTAIN N2 Park Car park BIKING CHESTNUT AVENUE • Size: 63ha Bishan- CHESTNUT Chestnut Park TRAILS AVENUE Point Chestnut Avenue • Opened: Waterworks (PUB) September 2009 Thomson Bishan Easy Eco-Link@BKE Murnane PAN-ISLAND station BUKIT TIMAH EXPRESSWAY Plaza Reservoir EXPRESSWAY Combination of gentle To bus stop Bukit Timah slopes and uneven surfaces in Petir Road Nature Reserve Bukit

Golf Course Marymount MacRitchie Moderately dif cult Tree station Reservoir

Combination of some House • Size: 9.5ha Ri e Range Nature Park steep slopes, narrow tracks Beauty World LORNIE ROAD Caldecott and uneven surfaces • Opened: August 2001 station • Size: 67ha • Opening: 2020 Foresque station Residences Very dif cult Combination of long FAUNA steep climbs, drop-offs and tricky obstacles Zhenghua The park is home to more than 80 species of plants and Park 100 species of animals – some of which are rare and vulnerable. Extremely dif cult Here are some of the fauna that you may see. Combination of very steep climbs and drop-offs, sharp corners and tricky obstacles

SHARED DAIRY FARM FLYOVER TRAIL Banded woodpecker (Picus miniaceus) NOTE: Visitors are to stay strictly to designated trails and not forge • This common illegal ones into the reserve. DAIRY FARM ROADDairy Farm resident of Nature Park woodlands can be found both in the FACTS AND FIGURES ON CHESTNUT NATURE PARK Bukit Timah and Central Catchment Trail length (km) Nature Reserves. Striped Kukri snake (Oligodon octolineatus) • It excavates nest

Opened on Size (ha) Hiking Mountain biking • Named for its large teeth that • Grows to 68cm long. holes in dead tree-trunks. resemble kukri knives. • Widespread and commonly • Notice how it uses its North Feb 25, 2017 64 3.5 6.6 • Characterised by an orange mid-dorsal found, it inhabits forests, stiff tail feathers to South April 2, 2016 17 2.1 1.6 stripe anked by three black stripes. scrublands and gardens. act as a brace. TOTAL – 81 5.6 8.2 Straw-headed bulbul Brown-chested (Pycnonotus zeylanicus) Jungle Flycatcher The nature park, Singapore’s largest, covers an area Third of ve buffer parks • Only about 600 to (Rhinomyias bigger than 110 soccer elds. for the Central Catchment Nature Reserve. 1,700 of these brunneata) endangered birds are • This nondescript, Singapore’s rst pump The rst nature park with The only park with left in the wild globally. forest-inclined a kiosk where you can separate trails • It is the largest of the brown bird is a track – a circuit of banked turns South-east Asian passage migrant. and mounds that enables stunt rent and wash for bikers and bulbuls, and is more • Sightings are bikers to ride without pedalling – mountain bikes commonly found in rare and its global is located in the park (below). hikers. and Bukit numbers are Batok. declining due to • There are at least the destruction of SIZE COMPARISON 200 of these melodious its breeding and Chestnut East Coast Sungei Buloh Lake Gardens Bishan-Ang songbirds in Singapore wintering grounds. Nature Park Park Wetland Reserve West and Central Park Mo Kio Park and their population 81ha 242.42ha 193.31ha 84.69ha 73.02ha 62ha seems to be increasing.

GETTING THERE (Opening hours: 7am to 7pm) By bus By car • Take service 700 or 966 and alight at • Drive along Petir Road. Block 202, Petir Road. BUKIT TIMAH EXPRESSWAY • Turn into Chestnut Avenue and • Take a 30-minute walk along Petir continue on for about 1.5km until Road/Chestnut Avenue to the park. you arrive at the park’s carpark.

Sources: NPARKS, SINGAPORE BIRD GROUP PHOTOS: ALPHONSUS CHERN, LIM YAOHUI, NPARKS STRAITS TIMES GRAPHICS: LIM YONG