Located a mere 12km away from the bustling city centre, Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (BTNR) has one of the largest patches of primary rainforest left in Singapore. Besides being ‘home’ to Singapore’s highest natural point – Bukit Timah Hill at 163.63 metres above sea level, it houses a remarkable range of native flora and fauna. The reserve, along with the adjacent Central Catchment Nature Reserve contain over 840 species of flowering plants and over 500 species of animals! BirdLife International, a global partnership of conservation organizations which strive to conserve birdlife has recognized the nature reserve as the Central Forest Important Bird Area as it supports populations of straw-headed bulbuls and brown-chested jungle flycatchers which are classified as vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

Conservation efforts since the founding of Singapore in 1819 have played a significant role in the protection of the reserve. Recommended by Nathaniel Cantley, the then Superintendent of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Bukit Timah Forest Reserve was one of the first forest reserves to be established in Singapore in 1883.  Subsequently, all forest reserves were depleted for timber with the exception of Bukit Timah Reserve. It continued to be protected under the management of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, retaining its flora and fauna. The reserve, alongside the Central Catchment areas were later declared nature reserves in 1990.

This gorgeous nature reserve was officially declared an ASEAN Heritage Park in 2011, becoming the second ASEAN Heritage Park in Singapore, with the first being Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve. This title marks BTNR’s excellence in tropical forest conservation and BTNR is now deemed as part of the representative ecosystems in ASEAN.

 

(Discover: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve)