When you arrive in Singapore by plane, you’ll get a taste of the best the city has to offer: the airport houses one of the world’s most beautiful halls, a blend of nature, glass and technology. It’s only an introduction to the city. Beyond the Malay, Chinese and Indian quartiers, cleanliness, safety and culinary specialities from all over Asia, stand one of the most gorgeous garden in the world. I’ve always thought that the wealth of a city is measured by the presence of its gardens. And Singapore, despite its modest size of one kilometer wide and fifty kilometers long – smaller than Paris – is home to the only botanical garden listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Just off Orchard Road, easily accessible by metro, the entrance to the Botanic Garden is free and open from 5 a.m. to midnight every day. It’s a must-see that I recommend if you’re spending more than 24 hours in Singapore.
The Botanic Garden, founded in 1859, has long been an important center for plant science, research and conservation. It’s filled with lakes, lush vegetation and relaxing areas.
The park offers several areas showcasing a wide variety of plants. You can explore the Learning Forest, which recreates the topography, hydrology and natural habitats of the area in the early 19th century, before the urban expansion of Singapore we know today. The Botanical Art Gallery, one of Singapore’s oldest colonial houses, built in 1906, served as a residence for French ambassadors for decades. It is now a permanent gallery dedicated to botanical art, displaying how art is vital in the scientific documentation of the flora of Singapore.
The jewel of the park is without doubt the National Orchid Garden. Created in 1928, it’s a veritable treasure, where horticultural staff have carefully created the world’s finest orchid hybrids, often presented for official visits or special occasions.
The garden is reached after a twenty-minute stroll through the other green spaces. The entrance fee (15 SGD for adults, 3 SGD for students) may seem high, but it opens the door to the world’s largest collection of orchids, spread over 3 hectares of lush vegetation. Singapore’s warm, humid climate means that hundreds of orchid species can be cultivated and preserved in natural outdoor conditions, which is not possible in Europe.
The garden offers several visitor path, starting in the outdoor Tropical Montane Orchidetum exhibit, where you’ll discover a wide variety of orchids from around the world, as well as other tropical forest plants. Each space is carefully designed to bring together species specific to certain altitudes, as in the Tan Hoon Siang Mist House, which houses a collection of award-winning hybrids. Another building also features panels explaining the hybrids created in honor of personalities who have visited Singapore.
Next, you can explore a temperate greenhouse, The Sembcorp Cool House, where the temperature is maintained at around 23°C, recreating the cooler conditions found at altitudes of 1,000 to 2,000 meters. Here you’ll see carnivorous orchids (Genlisea aurea) that capture insects with special hairs, as well as more harmless species. I also discovered for the first time the Bijou orchid (Macodes Petola), whose dark leaves are streaked with luminous veins, as if struck by lightning.
