Where we'd start
Any of these makes a good first stop.
Little Guilin is the place to start: a granite quarry flooded in the 1980s, now a lake among rocky cliffs in Bukit Batok Town Park. The park is free, open 24 hours and 42 hectares wide, and we'd photograph the lake at sunrise from behind the fences. Bukit Batok means 'coughing hill', and NParks ties the name to the noisy quarry works of the 1950s. Bukit Batok Nature Park, next door, was built on another abandoned quarry and has a plaza with views of the cliff and water. Bukit Gombak Park adds a 400-metre uphill loop with 108 steps and a butterfly garden. Bukit Gombak MRT is the stop for Little Guilin and the hill park.
In Bukit Panjang, Dairy Farm Nature Park holds the Wallace Education Centre, a former cow shed that is now a small gallery on the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. It's open 8.30am to 5pm and closes on Mondays, and Hillview MRT is the nearest station. Chestnut Nature Park covers 81 hectares for hikers, mountain bikers and birdwatchers, with a spiral observation tower. Zhenghua Nature Park is a 2.5km linear park that links the Bukit Panjang Park Connector to Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Take the LRT to Bangkit for either.
Choa Chu Kang is the part to bring children to. SAFRA Choa Chu Kang has a bowling alley, karaoke rooms and the Bouncetopia trampoline park under one roof, and Choa Chu Kang Swimming Complex is the feature pool here, with a wave pool and a slide. Choa Chu Kang Park, 11 hectares beside the Kranji Expressway, has four playground areas and a skate plaza, and its old fruit trees go back to the kampong days. Choa Chu Kang Library is built around an indoor garden with a hydroponics showcase.
When it rains, this side of the island copes well. The libraries at Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang open 11am to 9pm daily, and Bukit Batok's, in West Mall, has a Sound Cave. HomeTeamNS Bukit Batok has laser tag and an indoor playground for children up to 12, and Hillview Building holds a kintsugi studio and a rooftop coffee studio.
Getting there
On the North-South Line, Bukit Gombak (NS3) serves Little Guilin and Bukit Gombak Park, Bukit Batok (NS2) the library at West Mall, and Choa Chu Kang (NS4) SAFRA and its library. The Downtown Line stops at Bukit Panjang (DT1), Cashew (DT2) and Hillview (DT3), the stop for Dairy Farm Nature Park. For Chestnut, take the LRT to Bangkit or Pending.
Best time
Walk the quarry parks early. Little Guilin and Bukit Batok Nature Park never close, Chestnut Nature Park keeps 7am to 7pm hours, and the Wallace Education Centre shuts on Mondays. The pools at Bukit Batok and Senja-Cashew close on Wednesdays, and Choa Chu Kang's on Mondays.
A day in Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang & Choa Chu Kang
This is the order we'd go in, though each stop works fine on its own.
Where to eat
- Whisk and Paddle, Bukit Gombak Park, Bukit Batok West Avenue 5: brunch at the park, for after the 108 steps; hours vary
- Coexist Coffee Rooftop Studio, 48 Hillview Terrace #08-00: coffee on the roof, daily 9am–6pm; the lift stops at level 7, then it's one flight up
- Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre & Market, 2 Bukit Panjang Ring Road: 28 cooked-food stalls in one of NEA's newer centres
- Senja Hawker Centre, 2 Senja Close: the second newer NEA centre in Bukit Panjang, also with 28 cooked-food stalls
- Bukit Batok West Hawker Centre, Blk 469 Bukit Batok West Avenue 9: NEA's newer centre for Bukit Batok, with 22 cooked-food stalls
Questions
Which hawker centres are in Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang?
NEA's list includes three markets and hawker centres in Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang, all of them among its newer centres. Bukit Panjang has Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre & Market at 2 Bukit Panjang Ring Road and Senja Hawker Centre at 2 Senja Close, and Bukit Batok has Bukit Batok West Hawker Centre at Blk 469 Bukit Batok West Avenue 9. Choa Chu Kang has none on the list. We'd pick Bukit Panjang's, which is a market as well as a hawker centre.
Where do Little Guilin and Bukit Batok Nature Park fit in?
Both are flooded quarries on the Bukit Batok side, open 24 hours. Little Guilin, in Bukit Batok Town Park, is 42 hectares along Bukit Batok East Avenue 5, near Bukit Gombak MRT: a lookout rather than a climb, with no pets, fishing or carpark. Bukit Batok Nature Park is a separate 36-hectare park along East Avenues 2 and 6, with a paid 99-lot carpark on Avenue 2. NParks' page for it carries a notice about trail closures for maintenance works, with a map, so check it before you go.
Where can I find a wave pool in Choa Chu Kang?
Choa Chu Kang Swimming Complex has a wave pool and a slide, alongside competition, wading and spa pools. ActiveSG counts it a feature pool, so an adult standard ticket is S$2 on weekdays and S$2.60 at weekends, and it closes on Mondays except public holidays. The basic pools at Bukit Batok and Senja-Cashew cost S$1.30 on weekdays and close on Wednesdays.
How do I get to the Wallace Education Centre at Dairy Farm?
Take the Downtown Line to Hillview MRT, the nearest station NParks lists for Dairy Farm Nature Park. The Wallace Education Centre is open 8.30am to 5pm and closes on Mondays. Carpark B is beside it, and the path from there to the centre is the only wheelchair-accessible route. Pets aren't allowed on the Wallace Trail.
Which libraries in Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang are worth a visit?
Bukit Batok Library has the Sound Cave, Choa Chu Kang Library an indoor garden, and Bukit Panjang Library a Stories Come Alive Room for children. All three sit in malls, open 11am to 9pm daily and close on public holidays. We'd start with Bukit Batok's, which reopened after a full revamp.
What can children do in Choa Chu Kang?
SAFRA Choa Chu Kang has Bouncetopia, an indoor trampoline and obstacle park, and Sonic Bowl, where bumpers and dinosaur ramps help younger bowlers. Choa Chu Kang Park has four playground areas and costs nothing, and the swimming complex adds a wave pool and a slide. Bouncetopia's one-hour child ticket is S$19.80, so the park and the pool are the cheaper afternoons.
How do I get to Chestnut Nature Park?
Take the LRT to Bangkit or Pending, the two stations NParks lists, and walk to the eastern end of Chestnut Avenue. The park is free, covers 81 hectares and is open 7am to 7pm, and pets aren't allowed. Climb the spiral Chestnut Observation Tower for the view.
Things to do in Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang & Choa Chu Kang
A handful to start with. Tap one for the price and how to get there.
FreeLittle Guilin (Bukit Batok)
A flooded granite quarry by Bukit Gombak MRT
1 hour·Bukit Batok·Free
FreeBukit Batok Nature Park
Shaded steps and a quarry lookout in Bukit Batok
1.5 hours·Bukit Batok·Free
FreeChestnut Nature Park
Singapore's largest nature park, for hikers and bikers
3 hours·Bukit Panjang·Free
Wallace Education Centre
A cow shed turned Wallace exhibition gallery
1 hour·Bukit Panjang·Free
Bukit Batok Library
A revamped library with a sound cave
1 hour·Bukit Batok·Free
Choa Chu Kang Swimming Complex
Wave pool and slide at a public ActiveSG complex
2 hours·Choa Chu Kang·From S$2
