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Guide to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve: Bird-Watching, Crocodile-Spotting & Nature Walks with Kids

sungei buloh wetland reserve
PlayPost Category - PlayPlay - Post Category - AdventuresAdventures - Post Category - OutdoorOutdoor

Visit Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve to spot wild crocodiles, monitor lizards and birds, and explore mangrove forests! This kid-friendly nature park is a great place for families

Looking for an exciting yet leisurely activity to try with the kids? Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is one of those places we love to visit multiple times because there’s no way of getting bored! It’s a spot that I also frequently recommend to friends and family who pass through town, as it is a jewel of an ecosystem. In the 19th century, mangroves were found all along the coastline of Singapore, but were cleared for industry and housing. Today, forests of mangroves can only be found on offshore islands and nature reserves.

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is incredibly kid-friendly and an easy day trip that can be completed in as little as an hour or stretched out to a few hours if you choose to walk the longer trails. Keep reading to find out all about this beautiful slice of wildlife in Singapore!

Click to jump to…

How to Get to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Nature & Wildlife at Sungei Buloh
Sungei Buloh’s Stroller-friendly Walking Trails
Things to Know Before Visiting Sungei Buloh

sungei buloh wetland reserve mangrove walk
The mangrove boardwalk at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (image: Syazana Hishamuddin)

How to Get to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

By car: Sungei Buloh is easily accessible by car, with three carparks off Kranji Way located near the Visitor Centre, and another carpark off Neo Tiew Crescent near the Wetland Centre.
Public transport: A bus stop, located outside the entrance on Kranji Way, is served by Bus 925 which you can take from Kranji MRT station.
Shuttle bus: There’s also a free shuttle bus service that operates on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays! View the shuttle bus schedule here.

sungei buloh wetlands reserve common redshank
The Common Redshank are among the dozens of migratory birds you can spot at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Nature & Wildlife at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Of the 70 species of mangrove found in the world, 31 can be found in Singapore, and 27 in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve alone. These diverse species are home to a plethora of insects, amphibians, fishes, birds, and mammals. My preschooler and I have taken to birdwatching upon moving to Singapore, and we have spotted exotic migratory birds like whimbrels, plovers, resident herons and sunbirds here.

According to NParks, there have been an amazing 231 species of migratory birds recorded at Sungei Buloh. If you’ve got older kids, or are trying to introduce your little ones to the magic of bird watching, this is absolutely the place to go! Click here to see Sungei Buloh’s full migratory birds checklist, and consider following the Singapore Bird Group on Facebook — they’ve even got their own app to help you when you’re out in the field!

On our most recent visit to Sungei Buloh, we saw mudskippers, bizarre fish whose eyes protrude from the water and “skip” along the mudflats, and even managed to follow, from afar, an estuarine crocodile from sea to inland. In all our visits, we have yet to catch sight of a Malayan water monitor lizard, which can grow up to 6 feet long, or a smooth-coated otter, which are widespread along the Johor Straits. Soon, we hope!

  Download: Free Nature Play Scavenger Hunt

sungei buloh wetland reserve kids stroller
Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve is stroller-friendly with all its great boardwalks! (Images: Syazana Hishamuddin)

Sungei Buloh’s Stroller-friendly Walking Trails

Sungei Buloh has several walking trails, including Route 1 (3km), Route 2 (5km), and includes the longest boardwalk), and Route 3 (7km). The 500-meter long Mangrove Boardwalk, which winds its way through the mangrove trees, is just perfect for my daughter who can hike a little over a mile comfortably before asking to be carried. The Boardwalk is also stroller- and wheelchair-friendly.

Click here to see a full map of all the different walking trails at Sungei Buloh!

Route 1 is also suitable for young children, as it’s a level gravel trail. Dotted throughout Sungei Buloh you will also find a variety of observations pods, which provide the perfect opportunity to spot wildlife, whether at birds-eye-view, or at a safe distance from crocodiles down below! Note that most of these are accessed via stairs, however, and therefore aren’t stroller-friendly.

sungei buloh wetland reserve kingfisher observation pod
The Kingfisher observation pod at Sungei Buloh has a spectacular location along the water

Things to Know Before Visiting Sungei Buloh

How much: Free entry!
Opening Hours: Daily from 7am to 7pm
Tips: Don’t forget sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, an umbrella, a water bottle, and a packed lunch if you plan to walk the longer trails.

[Currently suspended] Volunteers lead free guided nature walks of Sungei Buloh every Saturday from 9:30-11am (except on public holidays and the eves of public holidays). Each walk is also limited to a maximum of 20 people and registration is required.

A section of the Coastal Trail has been closed since 16 August 2021 for maintenance. Eagle Point is still accessible from the Visitor Centre via the Forest Trail. Expected completion date is 31 March 2022. More info here.

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
Kranji Way entrance: 60 Kranji Way, Singapore 739453
Neo Tiew entrance: 301 Neo Tiew Crescent, Singapore 718925
[email protected] or Tel: (+65) 6794 1401, www.nparks.gov.sg

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Lead image, image #1 and #3 by Syazana Hishamuddin; Image #4 by Scott Smith via Wikimedia Commons

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