Bukit Batok Nature Park is known as the
Guilin of Singapore it resembles the much bigger Guilin Mountains in China. Little Guilin or colloquially known as Xiao Guilin by the locals here. 'Xiao' is a Chinese word meaning small or little. The hill is part of the nature park but has become the main attraction of it due to its photographic and scenic allure. Bukit Batok Nature Park is a respite for those living in the western part of Singapore.
The park is not located to the extreme west like
Jurong Lake Gardens but is actually closer to the
Bukit Timah Nature Reserve to the east and there is a 1.8 km (1.1 miles) park connector network walking path linking between the two nature parks as they are both part of the
36km coast-to-coast trail. Some hikers may combine Bukit Timah with Bukit Batok if they wish for a longer walk. Bukit Batok literally means 'coughing hill'.
Bukit is a Malay word which translates to hill while
batok means cough. While
timah translates to 'tin', so Bukit Timah literally means Tin Hill.
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| Picturesque 'Little Guilin' |
Jurong Lake Gardens is the start point or the ending point of the 36km coast-to-coast trail, depending on if you start from it or from Coney Island. The distance between Jurong Lake Gardens to Bukit Batok Nature Park is 7.3km (4.5 miles). Bukit Batok Nature Park is Checkpoint number 2. If you are doing the coast-to-coast trail, you can scan the checkpoint, but an app has to be downloaded first. While you are at Bukit Batok Nature Park, there will not be a signboard pointing to 'Little Guilin'. It is quite close to a playground, so look out for 'playground' signage if all you want to see at the park is the Little Guilin.
While Little Guilin is quite picturesque, as well as the path leading to it, well, as the 'little' name implies it is actually quite small. Even when there are not many people at Little Guilin, taking few simple photos can be a challenge as some people may hog the place trying to capture the perfect shot. There is after all only one little 'mountain'. :).
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| Bukit Batok Nature Park Map |
Little Guilin was a disused granite rock or stone quarry. Just like the ones at
Pulau Ubin (Granite Island) and
Bedok Reservoir, these disused quarries have been turned into scenic lakes, reservoirs or wetlands. Indeed granite quarries dotted the island from east to west and they used to build bridges and buildings during the early development of Singapore.
Walking or hiking around the nature park passing through some dense forest with tall trees and rustic looking wooden benches dotting the park, is actually quite refreshing. There are some hilly parts with steps hence the name 'Bukit', but all the trails are well paved with bricks blocks. It is not a big park compared to its neighbour Bukit Timah Nature Reserve but the attractions and the dense forests with tall trees well make up for it.
An outdoor fitness station is next to the playground. In many parks in Singapore, you will find a playground and outdoor fitness station just next to each other, probably so that the whole family can play or exercise together. There is a washroom and water cooler opposite the fitness station.
Other than Little Guilin you may spot the park resident birds, the sociable and pretty white-crested laughing thrush. These birds are usually seen in flocks of between 3 to 8, so if you peep inside the forest as you walk you may be able to spot them. Snake can be spotted too. There are signs about long-tailed macaques and wild boars, but monkeys and wild boars can be found in practically all parks or nature reserves in Singapore including at Pulau Ubin and
MacRitchie Reservoir, and we are quite used to seeing them.
As long as we don't feed wild animals as they are able to find their own food in the parks by eating wild fruits and seeds such as the common
red-stem figs and the pandanus fruits which are abundant in the park, these animals are pretty harmless. Humans, nature and wildlife should co-exist for a balanced ecosystem.
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| Steps to transmission tower with a giant 'book' |
There is a
World War II memorial site,
Syonan Chureito, along the steps up to Bukit Batok television transmission tower. The steps up don't lead to anywhere but at the top it is quite chill just sitting at the top and admiring the views below. There used to be two memorials on top of the hill in memory of the Japanese and Allied soldiers killed in the
Battle for Singapore, but they were no longer there, just a giant 'book' in the middle of the steps telling the tragic history of the area which had seen one of the fiercest battles between the Japanese and Allied troops.
The Shinto shrine commemorate the Japanese soldiers who were killed in the battle of Singapore, and it was built in 1942, and a 10-ft wooden cross in memory of Allied soldiers was built a short distance behind. The Shinto Shrine was destroyed in 1945 and the Allied memorial was removed under unknown circumstances.
If you are into World War II history, the nearby
Ford Motor Company Factory, which is down the steps is about 10 minutes' walk. Ford Motor Factory was where the fateful surrender by the British took place on 15 February 1942. You can learn more about the darkest days of Singapore at
Changi Museum.
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| Scenic path leading to Little Guilin |
The walk around the pleasant park and hill including Little Guilin will be about 2 hours. You may find joggers. As the park is not flat with steps, it is a hill after all, unlike many other parks especially in the east like East Coast Park, Pasir Ris, Coney Island or
Changi Beach, you will hardly find cyclists, except the flat bit to and from Little Guilin. There is also no rental bike station in the park. Walking up and down the hills in the forest perhaps give different experience than the parks near the beaches.
There is also a pleasant Bukit Batok town park near Bukit Batok Nature Park. The 'town' park refers to a park within housing estate which is commonly found in many housing estates in Singapore, so that even if we live in dense housing flats or high-rise apartments, we can still be close to nature.
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