Mountain · Singapore
Bukit Timah Hill
Bukit Timah Hill rises 164 metres above Singapore, yet it is the highest natural point of the island state. A patch of old rainforest still grows around it, full of birds, ferns and long-tailed monkeys.
Picture credit: Gareth Wyn Jones (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Bukit Timah Hill?
Bukit Timah Hill is part of the Central hill ridge.
You will find it in: Singapore.
Summit: 1.355° N, 103.776° E
The story behind it
Bukit Timah means tin hill in Malay, although no tin was ever dug here. The hill is made of hard granite, and quarries once cut deep into its flanks; some of those pits have filled with rainwater and turned into quiet green ponds. Around the summit lies one of the last pieces of primary rainforest in Singapore, a reserve small enough to cross in an hour and yet home to more kinds of tree than many whole countries have. Boardwalks and a steep paved road lead up through the trees, and walkers often meet long-tailed macaques sitting on the railings and watching people pass. Because this forest sits in the middle of a busy city, rangers ask visitors to stay on the paths, to keep food out of sight and to leave the colugos, squirrels and hornbills in peace.
Find it on the globe
Bukit Timah Hill is there as a small peak with its own shape — a horn, a ridge, a volcano — standing on the surface. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How high is Bukit Timah Hill?
Bukit Timah Hill measures 164 metres, about as tall as a very high office tower. Small as that sounds, no natural point in Singapore reaches higher.
Which country is Bukit Timah Hill in?
Bukit Timah Hill belongs to Singapore, a city state on an island at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. The hill stands near the middle of that island, only a short bus ride from the busy centre.
Can you climb Bukit Timah Hill?
Bukit Timah Hill is open to everyone and the walk to the top takes well under an hour on a paved path. The air is hot and damp, so water and light shoes help, and parts of the trails close for repairs from time to time.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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