MacRitchie Reservoir and TreeTop Walk

The reservoir was Singapore's first, built in the late 1860s and originally known simply as the Impounding Reservoir. Municipal Engineer James MacRitchie, whose name it now bears, worked on the reservoir in the 1890s. The forest around it was protected as water catchment, which is why such a large area of rainforest survives in the centre of a modern city.

The lakeside bandstand and zig-zag bridge, now conserved structures, recall the reservoir's role as a place for colonial-era promenades. The TreeTop Walk was completed in 2004 as the first freestanding suspension bridge of its kind in Singapore. Today the reservoir remains part of the protected Central Catchment Nature Reserve, managed by the National Parks Board, while the reservoir itself is run by the national water agency PUB.

MacRitchie is one of Singapore's favourite places to exercise. Runners use the trails for training and school cross-country races, paddlers train on the reservoir, and weekend mornings bring hiking groups and families. The forest is also a reminder of the city's water story: in a country with little land, protecting catchment forest around reservoirs has long been part of how Singapore secures its water supply.