Singapore Hotels - The attractions - Nature and Theme Parks

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BOTANIC GARDEN
The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a lush and serene 52-hectare park right in the heart of the city centre. The main entrance to this popular park is on the corner of Holland Road and Cluny Road, just off the western end of Orchard Road.

A truly beautiful park, the Botanic Gardens was founded in 1859, and is a great centre of research for students of botany the world. This is where the region's first rubber trees - so infamously smuggled from Brazil and then transported to London's Kew Gardens - were first planted by Henry Ridley.

The park is a great haven for people who just want to take a leisurely stroll, go for a jog or set up a picnic spot. On certain Sunday evenings, when there are free jazz or classical concerts in the park, you'll find hundreds of people picnicking or just lazing about in front of soaking in the music from the outdoor stage.

The Botanic Gardens are rather unique in that they contain a whole variety of flora from differing climates, which make for some surprisingly different settings within the park. Around the huge and peaceful lake, for example, are weeping willows and huge spreading trees that recall a Monet painting, while a white summer house and rows of neat flowers and lawns recall a Jane Austen-type setting. You can also wander among 250 different species of palm trees in the park's Palm Valley, or imagine you're in the midst of an equatorial jungle in the Rainforest section.

Tucked in the Botanic Gardens is the National Orchid Garden, which is well worth the $2 entrance fee. The Orchid Garden has the world's largest display - over 60,000 varieties - of orchid plants, including the Vanda Miss Joachim, Singapore's national flower.

The Botanic Gardens are open from 5 am to to 12 midnight daily, and admission is free. The National Orchid Garden opens from 8.30 am to 7 pm daily.

ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS
Singapore's Zoological Gardens, at 80 Mandai Lake Road (tel: 2693411), is well worth a visit, even - or especially- for those who feel that zoos are gloomy affairs featuring caged animals. The zoo has won accolades from around the world for its "open concept" in displaying its animals - wherever possible, carefully hidden moats replace bars, and the creatures are made to feel as close to their natural habitat as possible. You can be walking in a grove of trees and find long-tailed macaques chattering overhead!

The more popular exhibits are the Primate Kingdom, Wild Africa, the polar bears and the pygmy hippos. There's an area for kids called Children's World, where children can pat domesticated animals, see a cow-milking demonstration and watch sheep dogs round up sheep. You can also choose to have breakfast or tea with the zoo's celebrity orangutans for an additional SGD13 per adult and SGD10.30 per child

There are also regular animal shows, with the Primate & Reptile show at 10.30 am and 2.30 PM and the Elephant and Sea Lion show at 11.30 am and 3.30pm. Animal feeding times at the zoo, when the animals are at their most active, are at 9.30 am and 5.15 PM daily. The Singapore Zoological Gardens are open from 8.30 am to 6 PM daily.

Admission for adults is SGD10.30, and for children of between 3 and 12 years, SGD4.60. You can also opt for a combined Zoo and Night Safari (see below) package, at SGD21.60 for adults and SGD12.80 for children.