Luckily, there are still a few small pockets of this marvelous jungle that can be explored by the those of us who are up for the adventure.

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve lies to the far north of Singapore, just across the channel from Malaysia. You can get there by taking the 925 bus from the Kranji MRT station, but from down town public transit takes well over an hour, so a 45-minute taxi ride may be the way to go. The park is open from 7AM until 7PM and is free to enter.

View of Malaysia - Photo by Jaii Fredregill

When you enter the park, you will walk through a small visitor center staffed with friendly park employees. You can pick up a free map of the trails here, or buy a cold drink to survive the inevitable heat of wandering in the park.

Fish swimming below the boardwalk

The trails start out as nicely paved paths that run through the jungle and out onto boardwalks over the estuaries that straddle Singapore and Malaysia. You will stroll through mangroves and along the shore, constantly greeted by mudskippers, dragonflies, and hosts of migratory birds. If you look closely, you can see mud crabs making their way through the roots of the trees. There are many elevated lookouts with covered roofs and benches where visitors can rest along the way.

Mudskippers

About halfway through the park, just before you reach the Sungei Buloh Besar River, you will come to the Wetland Center. This provides another shady spot to sit and rest, and free purified water to re-fill your water bottle. Look out for the resident macaque monkeys, as they can sometimes be a little bit too friendly, especially if they suspect you have food in your pockets.

macaque monkey

As you cross the river, keep an eye out for the many large crocodiles that bask in the waters here. They are easy to spot when the water is low and they move out into the middle of the river to hunt. Otherwise, a sharp eye can usually spot them along the banks.

Crocodile

Once you cross the river, you will enter the Buloh Tidal Ponds. The ponds can be accessed by walking a looping dirt trail that is slightly elevated to avoid flooding at high tide.