Sentosa Jungle Trails and Beach Walks

Sentosa Boardwalk

How to get there
There are 2 low cost ways to get to the island (besides using the taxi and the cablecar):

1. Stroll across the boardwalk for an entrance fee of $1 (now free until end 2018) or
2. Take the Sentosa Express, a light rail that will provide 3 stops on the island for a fee of $3.

All internal transport on the island is free as well as returning to Vivocity. So one could walk across for $1, take all the bus and tram rides then take the monorail back at no extra cost.

Our aim for this walk was to explore the jungle trails on the island and traverse the three beaches. We chose to take an easy walk on the Sentosa Boardwalk from Vivocity to the Sentosa Island. It used to be called Belakang Mati or the Island of Death. The Sentosa Boardwalk has canopy-covered two-way travellators to speed up the walk and provide shelter from the hot afternoon sun and rain. It has tropical landscapes and provide a beautiful view of the bay.

Malaysian Food Street

After arriving at Resorts World Sentosa, we looked for the Malaysian Food Hall to try out the food. Not all stalls were open in the afternoon. The stalls were set up to replicate a typical Malaysian street scene with selected popular food. Some of us settled on the nasi lemak because of the fast moving queue. After that we left the Resorts World Sentosa for the Merlion Park. At the Merlion we took the escalator to the top. We went past the Sentosa Luge & Skyride and followed signs leading to the nature trails. There is a signboard listing all the trails on Sentosa. We planned a route that would cover most of the trails.

Imbiah Loop

Jungle Trails
The trails are short but provide shade from the sun. They generally circle around Mount Imbiah. The coastal trail facing the mainland has totem poles.

Sentosa Coastal Walk

We tracked along the Nyatoh Trail, Nibong Trail, the Imbiah Loop, Nepenthese Trail and finally descended the Tempinis Trail. Along the way we visited the Imbiah Falls, Tempinis Cascade and the Megazip Adventure Park at Mount Imbiah. At the time we visited this, it was closed due to an accident but has since reopened.

After exiting the Tempinis Trail onto Silosa Road, we moved on to the Coastal Trail. Here we could see on the opposite shores on the mainland Labrador Park, Marina at Keppel Bay and the Reflections, a high-end condominium.

Megazip Adventure Park

Beach Walks - Siloso Beach
After finishing with the jungle trails, we accessed the beaches near Rasa Sentosa at Siloso Beach. A road  runs along this beach and the other two i.e. Palawan Beach and Tanjong Beach. For those who do not like to walk you can take the beach tram at any of the stops. Along Siloso Beach are a number of attractions such as recreation halls, f&b and retail outlets, etc. This is also where the Flying Trapeze (an adrenalin filled adventure hanging from a cable) end on an island off the beach. There are 3 resorts along this beach.

Palawan Beach and Palawan Island

Palawan Beach
The next beach is the Palawan Beach. This is where we aim for the Koufu Food Court for rest and food at reasonable prices (for Sentosa). Here is Palawan Island connected to the beach by a rope suspension bridge. My favourite past-time here is purposely causing the bridge to sway with calculated foot stomping. The island claims to be the southern most point but when I checked with  Google Maps I found that Sentosa Cove is more southerly. I am confused!

Tanjong Beach
The next beach is Tanjong Beach. As it is the furthest east, it is also secluded and there are less people here. So if you want to be away from the crowd, this is the place. The Sentosa Cove, a high end residential development cum marina is not accessible from the beach unless you are a resident. When it was less developed with empty bungalow plots, we managed to access Tanjong Beach from Sentosa Cove at low tide but those days are over. After traversing this beach and back to Palawan Beach we were tired and took the tram to the Beach Station and the monorail back to Vivocity

See Also:
Mount Faber to Berlayer Creek and Bukit Chermin Boardwalk
Southern Ridges 
Tanjong Rimau and Fort Siloso at Sentosa Island

GPS Track

Map data ©2018 Google

Woodcutter Trail

Woodcutter Trail

Gangsa trail - near the entrance to the woodcutter trail

If you are bored with well-defined nature trails with mapboards, signposts and modern amenities, and prefer something more adventurous, then try the Woodcutter Trail. First of all there are no signs/maps/leaflets suggesting such a trail. There is a lack of official information. Information is provided by mountain bikers and trekkers who post their experience on the Internet.

The Woodcutter Trail lies in the Central Catchment Reserve in the central part of Singapore. It connects the Gangsa/Chestnut Bike Tracks on the west to Upper Peirce Reservoir Park on the east. Because of its proximity to the bike trails on the west (alongside the Bukit Timah Expressway), mountain bikers are more familiar with it, although they are not supposed to cycle on the trail.

Granite hill

Entrances to the trail are unmarked so first time visitors may have difficulty finding them. You cannot even find the entrance on the east side as it is purposely obscured. The clue to the entrance lies behind a sign that forbids cyclists using the trail. However the warning is often ignored. Cycling on the trail is discouraged to prevent damage to the trail.

Woodcutter trail

Because the trail is not marked, signs are left in the form of tape hanging on branches to indicate the trail. Of course experienced trekkers can also read the trail itself. When there is heavy rain, certain stretches of the trail will be flooded. So be prepared for wet feet. There are three streams to cross where the trekkers would either cross using branches already laid across them, or stepping across clay pots. Best to bring along walking poles to avoid losing your balance when crossing the streams or walking along the track.

It takes about two and a half hours to cover the trail proper plus another half an hour along Old Thomson Road. Photographers and nature lovers will take longer because of the diversity of plant, animal and insect life.

The Woodcutter Trail runs approximately east-west bounded by Seletar Reservoir to the north and the Upper Peirce Reservoir to the south. The vegetation runs from secondary forest in the east and west to primary forest in the central part. On some days one can hear the sound of firearms from the rifle ranges near the eastern and western parts of Seletar Reservoir.

Crossing a stream

Walking this trail is an entirely different experience especially at certain stretches where the green mantle gets close to you, but not to worry we do not need to cut our way through and knowing that we are not more than 2 hours from the familiar world outside. So enjoy the closest experience to the jungle in urban Singapore.

By the way do detour to the Upper Peirce Reservoir Park which is not too far from the trail entance/exit on Old Upper Thomson Road. There you can see both the scenic Upper Peirce and Lower Peirce Reservoirs separated by the dam. In the old colonial days, such infrastructure projects were named after the engineers. Without the dam, the Upper Peirce Reservoir will be much smaller and less water storage for us.

(P.S. This trail is closed to the public. It is an offence to enter or leave any part of the nature reserve which is closed. Please follow the instructions on the signboards.)

See Also:
Admiralty Park to Sembawang
The Pipeline Trail
Woodlands Town to Bukit Panjang via Ulu Sembawang Park Connector


Woodcutter Trail video