Gardens by the Bay is a huge, colorful, futuristic park in the bay area of Singapore. Among the standout features are the famous Supertree structures. These offer an impressive skywalk over the gardens, with oversized seashell-shaped greenhouses that recreate chilly mountain climates. With its supertrees, biodomes and skywalks, Gardens by the Bay is part of an overall strategy to develop and create a new downtown district in Singapore’s Marina Bay.

Gardens by the Bay covers 250 acres of reclaimed land on the waterfront. One of the best spots to get an idea of the sheer size of the Gardens is from the top of Marina Bay Sands

Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay

The centerpieces of the 103-acre garden are the 18 manmade “supertrees” which are vertical structures covered in tropical flowers and ferns. Designed by British architects Wilkinson Eyre and landscape architects Grant Associates, the 25 to 50 meters high structures just don’t look omnisciently fantastic, but they also generate solar power, act as air vent ducts for the conservatories nearby and collect rainwater. Connected by “skywalks” the supertrees were designed to impress-and they certainly do.

Walking around the park won’t cost you a cent but there is a fee if you want to step inside the climate-controlled conservatories or walk among the Supertrees. There is no doubting the dominance of the steel-framed ‘tree’ plantation, towering over Gardens by the Bay with 12 of the large metal structures in the central grove and half a dozen others placed in other parts of the garden.

Over 200 different species of plants and flowers cover the exterior of these tall upright gardens – twice a night, at 7.45pm and 8.45pm, they are a centerpiece of the gardens’ light and music show, casting a glow over the park, and making you feel like you are in a modern fairy tale.

For those who like a view, take the trip 25 meters up to the remarkable walkway that connects 3 of the trees together. The 50-meter tree in the center offers 360-degree panoramas of the Gardens as well as Marina Bay.

The Greenhouses at Gardens by the Bay

While access to the outdoor gardens at Bay South is free, there is an admission to enter the shell-shaped conservatories, of which there are two:

• Flower Dome and
• Cloud Forest.

Equivalent to 2.2 football fields, the cool-dry climate controlled Flower Dome houses plants from deserts around the world, while the cool-moist Cloud Forest showcases a manmade mountain that you can ascend, experiencing the lush, tropical vegetation in nine different zones. Cloud Forest also features a 30-meter-high manmade waterfall that helps maintain the climate.

Go on a fascinating journey of discovery and get up close with some of the world’s most exotic plant species as you stroll along its unique aerial walkways. Cloud forest is covered in plants that usually thrive in tropical highlands. Don’t worry if climbing feels too much, there is a lift that takes you up into the mist and gives you a great view looking down over the walls of plants and orchids.

The Flower Dome is also cooler than outside, recreating the drier climes of places like California and the Mediterranean. In this gigantic conservatory, you will find yourself on a journey around the world, with Baobabs from Africa, Olive trees from Spain, Kangaroo Paw from Australia.

Transportation and logistics.

Getting here is easy, either via walkways from the hotel, which give you elevated views or by taking the slightly longer riverside promenade to enter the park near the 2 domes.

Location: 18 Marina Gardens Dr, Singapore 018953

Alight at Bayfront MRT Station (CE1/DT16). Take Exit B and follow the underground linkway. Exit and cross the Dragonfly Bridge or Meadow Bridge into Gardens by the Bay. Find out more details on getting to Gardens by the Bay here..

Happy adventures!

Travel Tips

• Buy the Singapore tourist pass which allows Unlimited Rides on Public Transport
• Park is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Can be done in half a day if planned properly