National Orchid Garden Has Expanded Cloud Forest Enclosure That Measures 1,100m²
Gardens by the Bay (GBTB), with its man-made cloud forest and majestic super trees, is arguably one of Singapore’s most popular attractions.
If you always enjoyed walking through the cooling cloud forest, you’re gonna love this new attraction that just opened its doors today (3 Apr 2021).
After 3 years of enhancement works, 3 new display houses at the National Orchid Garden are now ready for visitors.
We take a sneak peek, courtesy of NParks and local guide Nature Guide Singapore, who visited the location today.
Among the new attractions at the Tropical Montane Orchidetum is the Sembcorp Cool House, which is designed to emulate a cloud forest between elevations of 1,000-2,000 metres.
National Orchid Garden has a new & large cloud forest
According to NParks, enhancement works have expanded the Sembcorp Cool House to 1,100m², which is 4 times its original size.
Built to maintain a temperature of between 16-23°C, the Sembcorp Cool House houses more than 1,000 orchid species from 5 biogeographical regions:
- Afrotropics
- Australasia
- Continental Southeast Asia
- Neotropics
- South Asia
Image courtesy of NParks
The orchids on display are high-elevation ones, allowing nature lovers to admire them respectively without having to journey overseas.
Though the Sembcorp Cool House isn’t as tall as its cousin at GBTB, it still bears an uncanny resemblance thanks to the transparent glass panels covering the entire display.
2 other new display houses at National Orchid Garden
Apart from the Sembcorp Cool House, 2 other display houses also make up the new Tropical Montane Orchidetum.
The Yuen Peng McNeice Bromeliad Collection is where visitors can find plants from the mid-elevation neotropical rainforest — between elevations of 650m-1,000m.
Image courtesy of NParks
Besides bromeliads, you can also find plants such as pineapples and other orchid variants here.
Ananas comosus aka pineapple
Image courtesy of NParks
The Tan Hoon Siang Mist House rounds up the trio of display houses, emulating a paleotropical garden of similar altitude to that of the Yuan Peng McNeice Bromeliad Collection.
Image courtesy of NParks
Here, visitors can catch a glimpse of unique, award-winning orchids from the National Orchid Garden.
Papilionanda Tan Hoon Siang
Image courtesy of NParks
Even more plants outside the 3 display houses
Outside the display houses, the Lowland Habitat Trail and Secret Ravine usher visitors to a lush haven full of interesting plant varieties.
From regional orchids to tropical valley plants, exploring all of them will be like taking a quick trip around the world.
Children below 12 enter for free
If you’re seeking some tranquility away from city life, perhaps a trip to the Tropical Montane Orchidetum is what you need.
Ticket prices start from $1 for local students and seniors, while children below 12 get to enter for free.
Here’s how to get there:
Tropical Montane Orchidetum, National Orchid Garden
Address: 1 Cluny Rd, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore 259569
Opening hours: 8.30am-7pm daily (last ticket sale and entry at 6pm)
Nearest MRT: Botanic Gardens MRT station
Visit the mini GBTB with your fam
The Tropical Montane Orchidetum will likely be a popular destination for Singaporeans who’d love to get closer to nature.
If you’ve always enjoyed the Cloud Forest at GBTB, you’ll likely love the new Sembcorp Cool House too.
Plan a visit with your fam soon, and check out the other sites at Singapore Botanic Gardens too.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured images courtesy of NParks.Â
