6 National Heritage Board Trails That Will Bring You Across Singapore
Get to know our 'lil red dot a little better through these self-guided walks around the island
Walking in Singapore weather is a dicey proposition. If it is not scorching hot, it is pouring with rain. The combination of both heat and humidity makes walking even just a short distance a test of endurance.
Add a compulsory face mask, and only mad dogs and Englishmen, as the song goes, go out in the midday sun.
Still, with air travel limited and Singaporeans in search of recreation within national bounds, heritage trails present an intriguing proposition – learn about Singapore history while getting in that prescribed 10,000 steps a day.
The National Heritage Board (NHB) has collated 19 heritage trails across the island since 1999, and they cover a good range of Singapore's geography and history. But are all of them worth slogging through?
Unfortunately, some map pins were wildly off the mark for a couple of the trails, with at least one pin located in the middle of a road.
Estimations of total trail distances were flagrantly inaccurate, so we have included the number of steps, as a rough approximation of actual distances covered, if one were to follow the site's full trail suggestions.
Do also note that some trails are insanely long and unmanageable solely on foot. The Yishun-Sembawang trail, for example, had 30 stops, which took 7½ hours to cover in both a car and on foot. The World War II trail is even more manic, spanning some 50 sites in the PDF booklet.
An NHB spokesman has acknowledged that has issues, and the Yishun-Sembawang trail will be streamlined by the first quarter of next year.
Despite this, the heritage trails offer a good way to explore neighbourhoods and unearth new nuggets about places Singaporeans seldom think twice about.
Just some things to note if you are planning to tackle any trail...
- Dress comfortably and arm yourself with sunscreen and an umbrella.
- When exploring religious institutions, be mindful about dress and photography, and take note that because of the pandemic, entry might be restricted.
- Take this guide with you, and happy trails!
- Find the trail guides online at this website.
Heritage Trails in the Central: Best for foodies, nostalgia fans and architecture buffs
Balestier trail is one for the foodies
Rating: 4/5
Duration and difficulty: Three hours, about 9,000 steps. Note that the Tan Tock Seng side of the walk is a bit hilly. Moderately easy walk.
The highlights:
Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall
Maha Sasanaramsi Burmese Buddhist Temple
Shaw Brothers film studio
Loong Fatt Tau Sar Piah
Balestier Market
Former Mandalay Road Hospital
Goh Chor Tua Pek Kong Temple
Art Deco apartment blocks
Sim Kwong Ho shophouses
Loy Kee Best Chicken Rice
Sing Hon Loong Bakery (Ghee Leong)
Whampoa Food Market
Heritage Trails in the North: Suss out gardens galore and religious gems
Yishun-Sembawang trail is sprawling, full of nature and religious gems
Rating: 2/5
Duration and difficulty: Seven-and-a-half hours, about 15,000 steps and a fair bit of driving between landmarks. Flat terrain, but challenging in terms of distance.
The highlights:
Beaulieu House
Masjid Petempatan Melayu Sembawang
Masjid Assyafaah
Sembawang Hot Spring
Hock Huat Keng and Sri Veeramuthu Muneeswarar Temple
Cheow Leng Beo and Chee Hoon Sun Kong temples
Sree Maha Mariamman Temple
Chong Pang Combined Temple
Lower Seletar Reservoir
Spiritual Grace Presbyterian Church
Masjid Ahmad Ibrahim
Upper Seletar Reservoir
Heritage Trails in the South: Go street shopping, search for tombs and try walk of faiths
Kampong Glam is a marvellous maze of mosques and street shopping
Rating: 4/5
Duration and difficulty: One hour 10 minutes, or about 4,350 steps. Easy walk.
The highlights
Masjid Malabar
Alsagoff Arab School
Masjid Hajjah Fatimah
Istana Kampong Glam and Gedung Kuning
Masjid Sultan
Bussorah Street
Arab Street
Haji Lane
Heritage Trails in the East: Spot wildlife and explore colonial bungalows
The lure of the sea at Pasir Ris
Rating: 3/5
Duration and difficulty: Three-and-a-half hours, about 10,000 steps. The map at Roots.gov.sg looks straightforward, but distances between some landmarks are farther than we thought.
The highlights:
Pasir Ris Park
Mangrove Forest
Loyang Tua Pek Kong Temple
Heritage Trails in the West: Walk down memory lane, discover an old railway bridge
Walk down memory lane in Queenstown
Rating: 4/5
Duration and difficulty: More than six hours if you visit all 40 points. About 26,300 steps. An easy walk, with some stair-climbing.
The highlights:
Queenstown Public Library
Singapore's first HDB blocks
HDB terraces
Tiong Ghee Temple
HDB’s first point blocks
“Butterfly Block”
Alexandra Hospital
Hang Jebat Mosque
Colonial terraces at Jalan Hang Jebat
Wessex Estate
Former Malayan Railways
Singapore Improvement Trust flats
Sri Muneeswaran Temple
Church of the Blessed Sacrament
Tanglin Halt Neighbourhood Centre
First flatted factory
Shuang Long Shan Wu Shu Ancestral Hall
VIP Block
Ridout Tea Garden
Commonwealth Crescent Neighbourhood Centre
Heritage trails: Revisit ghosts of wartime past in islandwide WWII trail
Great for history buffs
Rating: 2/5
Duration and difficulty: In its entirety, this islandwide trail will take you several days (there are about 50 points, organised into six regions).
It is best attempted if you are driving or visiting only a few places. Many sites are not within easy walking distance of one another.
The highlights:
Kranji War Cemetery
Labrador Battery
Siloso Battery
Fort Canning Command Centre
Grave of Lim Bo Seng
Seletar Airfield area
Changi Museum
Text: Ong Sor Fern, Olivia Ho, Toh Wen Li & Venessa Lee/The Straits Times