MacRitchie Tree Top Walk

most people i know - both those who live here in singapore and those who came to visit - have been to macritchie, specifically to the tree top walk. it's like this is in everyone's singapore bucket list. what's the big deal?

i sought to find out myself last weekend.

the macritchie tree top walk is the 4th item in my nature walks list that i vowed to do in this city state. it's always exciting to plan a trip somewhere, but in fact there are a lot to explore right at my own backyard! the funny thing is, i used to live in bishan, which is a mere bus ride away to venus drive, which is where i intended to start my walk. back then i never had an itch to do hiking and stay fit. but now that i do, it's never too late, right?

macritchie park map via nparks.gov.sg - highlighted the (popular) short route i took

after doing the first 3 hikes i realize now that i can only do a continuous walk up to 3 hours, and then i'd be super exhausted. and since i normally start post lunch, i don't have the luxury of taking a rest in between to cover more distance. looking up posts online it seems that it will be between 1.5 to 2 hours to walk from the venus drive and do the tree top walk and circle back. i promised lovro i'd be home for dinner so walking the entire macritchie reservoir park will have to wait.

of course, macritchie being among - if not the most - favorite walking trail in singapore, there were a lot of people that afternoon. as i started at 3:30, i was mindful of not taking a leisurely walk because the entrance to the tree top walk closes at 4:45. i was walking fast enough to overtake a few people. still, i managed to snap some photos along the way. 

long-tail macaque youngsters. and a giant forest ant.

there are information boards throughout the trail about some interesting facts on these flora and fauna. i'm pretty sure i read about this particular tree, and why it has these green boils all over, but i completely forgot about it! auntie-fail!

it was a 30-minute walk to get to the entrance of the tree top walk, which makes me an average asian walker :-D and then i get to the point of no return...

the bridge is 250m long, and 25 meters high. it is quite narrow and it does shake, so it might be quite a thrill for some people. apparently only 30 people are allowed on the bridge at a given time, and since there is a security staff at the entrance, one can hope that indeed he's counting how many people are on when it gets crowded. i wanted to take my time since it's a one-way path, so i let a few pass me. eventually almost everybody's gone, and i had some time to really enjoy the view of the forest canopy and position myself better for good photos haha

the one thing i do remember is that in this forest below there are a bunch of cheng tng trees. i have heard about the cheng tng dessert, which is widely available in any hawker or kopitiam, but i have never tried it myself. according to the nparks website: "The ripe seeds, when soaked in a cup of water overnight, give rise to a brown spongy jelly that swells to fill the cup, hence the name. If you have eaten cheng tng (a local dessert), you would have tasted this brown spongy jelly, which is incidentally very nutritious." and now i know why i've never tried it! it doesn't sound like a mouthwatering dessert! LOL

as you exit the bridge, there are directions for the ranger station and when you eventually reach petaling hut, you have a few options. you can take sime track and terentang trail and either walk back to venus drive or finish off the rest of the nature trail (i think about 6km more). you can also walk all the way to bukit timah nature reserve for another 7km or so. or a quicker and fun detour to jelutong tower for another elevated view of the nature reserve. i took this last option.

after walking up seven small storeys in that spiral staircase, you get to enjoy this 360 view of awesomeness under the scorching sun. 

on my way back towards the entrance of windsor nature park (towards venus drive) i encountered some more local resident macaques. they're always interesting to look at, but somehow i'm always jumpy when they start to approach. guess i'm not a monkey person haha. i did not see the monitor lizard (booo!) but i saw a teeny-tiny crawler instead. 

verdict: there's a reason why macritchie is so popular! it's quite an enjoyable walk, with several trails to choose from: there's something for everyone. and all i could think about after this was: why haven't i done this before?! i need more FFFs! fitness-freak friends, that is :-D