Jurong Lake Gardens - Grassland, Alstonia and Rasau Walk

Tucked at the western end of Singapore within the Jurong Lake District and not too far away from both Chinese and Japanese Gardens, is the picturesque family friendly Jurong Lake Gardens. It is conferred as the third 'national' garden in Singapore, the first being the historical and Unesco World Heritage Site english garden theme Singapore Botanic Gardens with its world-class National Orchid Garden, and the second is the newer, almost 10 years old Gardens by the Bay with its two thematic conservatories or domes and 18 super trees.

Jurong Lake Gardens is a huge garden which resembles more like a park, with its wide-open concept and an array of interesting sections as you will learn below. In urban Singapore seeing the open vast grassland dotted with rustic looking observatories is such a pleasant experience. The wooden huts are for visitors to view small bird species that feed on grass seeds and at the same time we can seek shelter from the heat amidst the open area. Especially great for bird watchers and nature photographers who want to up close to nature.

The Grassland and observatory

So other than Sungei Buloh, Pulau Ubin, Coney Island and Pasir Ris Park, these scenic grasslands provide alternatives for bird watching in a different setting. Unlike the mangroves forests that we are used to these grasslands are quite something, however the open concept of the grassland without tall trees for shade can be quite hot to walk, so the best time will be in the morning or later afternoon. However, take note as there is no lighting within the grassland, try not to linger after dark.

The scenic and much photographed Rasau Walk is a meandering boardwalk along the water’s edge that allow us to get up close to nature. Rasau Walk meanders through clusters of Nibong (Oncosperma tigillarium), Sealing Wax Palm (Crystostachys renda), and Rasau (Pandanus), hence the name Rasau Walk.

Rasau Walk and Jurong Lake

These are some of the plants that are commonly found in a freshwater swamp habitat. Parts of the plants are constantly submerged underwater, and these plants adapted over time to deal with the constant flooding.

In Malay, pandanus species or rasau is called mengkuang laut. Laut is sea in Malay. So, you can see the connection here. Pandanus is also commonly known as Screwpine. You can find pandanus spp. trees in many parks in Singapore such as at Pasir Ris Park and Pulau Ubin.

Do you know there is a european-ish sounding island called Alstonia at Jurong Lake Gardens? Named after a very tall native heritage tree that can grow up to 40m (131 ft.) tall, the Common Pulai or its scientific name Alstonia angustiloba, Alstonia Island reflects the natural history of the area with its swampy forests and wetlands which is its original habitats prior to the development of the industrialised Jurong.

Pandanus spp. (rasau)

You can still find common Pulai trees at Pulau Ubin along the way to Chek Jawa and along Sentosa Island nature trails near the sea. There is another Pulai tree, called the Blackboard tree. Its scientific name is Alstonia scholaris. See the connection between blackboard and scholaris? :). You can find Alstonia scholaris at Singapore Botanic Gardens.

To learn more about Pulai trees or Pandanus (Rasau), there is a page dedicated to native, heritage or common trees here.

Being family-friendly park as most other parks in Singapore, there is a two-hectare water-based playground, called the Clusia Cove, which is using is a sustainable closed-loop water recycling system. One part of the playground is a network of cleansing biotope serving as a natural water treatment system.

The sand beds filter out particulate matter while the semi aquatic plants absorb nutrients from the water. An underground ultra-violet room disinfects the water before pumping the water out onto the Playground. The play area is open from 8am to 7pm. It is closed on Mondays except for Public Holidays.

Pandanus (screwpine) fruits

Another play area is called the Forest Ramble which is both nature and animals themed. The play elements are designed to mimic animals that inhabit freshwater swamps common to the Jurong Lake area. The play area is open from 8am to 10pm. It closes on Mondays except for Public Holidays.

There is allotment garden at Jurong Lake Gardens with about 300 plots where you can admire (but not pluck) what the community with green fingers plant. There are a variety of vegetables or fruits within each 2.5m by 1m raised planter boxes.

Alstonia Island

You can see vegetables or fruits like cucumbers, tomatoes, chilli, bell peppers, egg plants, basil, radish, ginger, spring onions, passion fruits or the more traditional kangkong, chye sim or kailan. The more adventurous ones may try to plant mediterranean herbs like rosemary, lavender, dill, sage and oregano. You may see the occasional bright and yellow sunflowers too.

Allotment gardens is an initiative by NParks where you can rent each allotment for a minimal fee of about $180 for a three-year period. Of course, you will see while most plots are well maintained and look green, others may not be so. In Singapore sunny weather, these allotment garden needs to be regularly watered. Though fortunately with tropical weather rainfall can be plentiful too.

Allotment garden

Gardening during the pandemic can be quite therapeutic and especially more so for self-sustenance. Perhaps allotment garden can help with Singapore's 30 by 30 vision, where by 2030 it is hoped that 30% of food supply can be sourced locally.

For those looking to workout, there is a sports facility called ActiveSG Park and it is located next to the South Car Park. This sports facility has an indoor gym and an outdoor lap pool. The lobby area with tables and chairs are open at all times. It opens from 7am to 10pm (Monday to Wednesday, Friday to Sunday and Public holidays) and from 3pm to 10pm on Thursday. Admission charges apply. Generally, in Singapore, you can find outdoor gyms and exercise corners in many parks all over the island and they are free, well, if you do not mind the heat and humidity.

Singapore Kopsia

Another water venture themed facility, called Passion Wave offers an array of water sports activities in addition to event space such as a rooftop venue, classrooms and training rooms. It opens from 9am to 6pm (Tuesday to Friday) and from 8am to 6pm (Saturday and Sunday). Just like other facilities it closes on Mondays too for maintenance. Do note with Covid-19 pandemic and circuit breaker or social distancing, some facilities may not be operating. Opening hours may vary too. Fortunately, the huge and wide garden being outdoor is open. We certainly could use some sunshine for vitamin D. :)

You can find Singapore Kopsia or Kopsia Singapurensis at Jurong Lake Gardens near the entrance. These flowers are quite small so can be easily missed. These native flowers with the colours like Singapore flag can only be found in Singapore and Peninsula Malaysia. It was once thought this simple, yet pretty flower would become the national flower of Singapore due to its colours. But Papilionanthe Miss Joaquim, an orchid, was chosen instead. Once rare, Singapore Kopsia is making a comeback which is great and now you can find this flower at other parks too including at MacRitchie Reservoir Park.

Bamboo Orchid

The beautiful purplish native bamboo orchids (Arundina graminifolia), a favourite with gardeners, is also abundant in the garden. The bright reddish torch ginger or bunga kantan can also be found at this garden. Torch ginger flowers buds are used as garnish or flavouring in many Malays or Nonya cooking. The popular local dish rojak has a torch ginger or bunga kantan as garnish. So, look out for all these pretty flowers during your walk in Jurong Lake Gardens.

There is also a stream called the Neeram Stream which used to be a concrete drain leading from the nearby Yuan Ching Road. It has since been converted into a series of naturalised streams. The Stream channel stormwater runoff from the surrounding gardens and cleansed the stormwater before depositing the flows into Jurong Lake. It is part of the Gardens’ sustainability feature just like the recycled water used in the Water playground. Jurong Lake is one of the 17 reservoirs in Singapore, so it is an important source of water supply.

Neeram Water stream

Part of the 36km (22 miles) Coast-to-Coast Trail, Jurong Lake Gardens is the starting point or the end point depending on if you start from the west or from Coney Island, located at the north-eastern part of Singapore. There are a total of 18 parks hugging coast-to-coast trail, and the next pitstop or rather park stop is Bukit Batok Nature Park which is 7.3 km (4.5 miles) away.

Jurong Lake Gardens is located along Yuan Ching Road, in Jurong, which is especially great for those living in the western part of Singapore. The grassland is something unique that cannot be found in other parks in Singapore. So is the scenic Rasau Walk that is meandering around the lake. There are also the largest wetlands in Singapore at the third national garden. A lot of things to see and admire indeed.

Rasau Walk

There are indeed a lot of things to do and see at Jurong Lake Gardens. So, the Gardens is certainly worth a visit, a place for a nice stroll amongst the grassland or meandering around Rasau Walk and admiring nature. You will be pleasantly surprised. You can combine your visit with the nearby Chinese and Japanese Gardens which are part of the larger Jurong Lake District. Jurong is probably named after a Malay word 'jerung' which means shark!

Chinese and Japanese Gardens have been around for many years, and they are some of the early thematic public gardens in Singapore. They are both worth a visit, though currently undergoing renovations and may not be accessible.