Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve protects 164 hectares of primary and thinned secondary rainforest only twelve kilometers from downtown Singapore - alongside a patch of Rio de Janeiro, the only city in the world with genuine virgin jungle inside its limits. Alfred Russel Wallace collected insects here in 1854 and described the spot as one of the most species-rich places he had ever seen; a single square kilometer holds more tree species than all of North America. The reserve climbs to Bukit Timah Hill at 164 meters, Singapore's highest point, on dense trails through giant dipterocarps, tree ferns and over root bridges. Macaques are pushy, so do not carry visible plastic bags; entry is free.