Exploring the Fantastic Singapore Botanic Garden

Visitors to Singapore are struck by the city’s dense skyscrapers rising above green trees. The country is named as “The Garden City” for its greenery. Two among famous green places are Gardens by the Bay at Marina and Botanic Garden in the city centre.

The Singapore Botanic Garden spans 74ha divided into three main areas with different thematic gardens. The National Orchid Garden is home to over 1,000 species of orchids and 2,000 hybrid species, including the national flower of Singapore the Vanda Miss Joaquim orchid.

The tropical rainforest area holds 314 plant species that create a multilayered ecolosystem and include grasses, ferns, shrubs and forest trees. Aside from rare species from Singapore, the rainforest also boasts economically important plants such as fruit trees and rattan. The Botanic Garden features many trees, an outdoor lab and a reserve for threatened species. The Herbarium preserves over 750,000 grass species from Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and other Southeast Asian countries, in particular some collections of grasses dating back to the 1880s.

It’s not a coincidence that this garden was nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

GET IN BY PUBLIC TRANSPORTS

BY MRT OR BY BUS

At Tanglin Gate:

• By bus alighting at Napier/Holland Road
• SBS Transit 7, 105, 123, 174,174e
• SMRT 75, 77, 106, NR8
• Nearest MRT Station: Orchard MRT (North-South Line) and a 5-min bus ride to Tanglin Gate

At Bukit Timah Gate or Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden:

• By bus alighting at Bukit Timah/Dunearn Road
• SBS Transit 48, 66, 151, 153, 154, 156, 170
• SMRT 67, 171
• Nearest MRT Station : Botanic Gardens MRT Station (Circle Line & Downtown Line)

BY TAXI

There are taxi pick-up & drop-off points at two major entrances:

• Botany Centre
• Tanglin Gate (via junction of Holland/Napier Road)

HOTELS NEAR BY

• L Residence Hotel is 1 km away at 19 Lewis Road
• Orchard Hotel Singapore is 1.2 km  away at 442 Orchard Road
• RELC International Hotel is 1.1 km away at 30 Orange Grove Road
• Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore is 1.3 km away at 22 Orange Grove Road
• Hotel Jen Tanglin Singapore is 1.5 km away at 1A Cuscaden Road