In Singapore it is a must to visit the Gardens by the Bay, wonderful trees that give their best lighting in the evening. Here's why to visit them and how they are composed, as well as how to book tickets.
Singapore it is a surprising city: it dazzles you with its lights, turned on at any time of day or night; it captivates you with its skyscrapers and green and charming parks; it intrigues you with its characteristic neighborhoods, full of colors and traditions. Besides, Singapore hides corners of real magic, which you could never have thought were true before seeing them with your own eyes.
I'm talking about Gardens by the Bay, a magical garden that is located just behind the huge and futuristic complex of the Marina Bay Sands, in the Marina Bay area. We are in the place where the Singapore River meets the sea, where tourists gather to admire some of the main attractions of this eclectic city: in addition to the Marina Bay Sands, there are the Singapore Flyer, the Helix Bridge, the Merlion statue… and the Gardens by the Bay, in fact.
Gardens by the Bay are a large park, completed in 2012, which covers an area of ​​over 100 hectares; it is accessible via the subway or on foot, through a tunnel that leaves directly from the Marina Bay Sands hotel. Leaving the tunnel or the subway, you will find yourself in an enchanted world, a small micro-cosmos apart, which welcomes more than 6 million curious visitors every year.
The gardens are divided into three parts, but the one called Bay South Garden it is by far the most visited, because the main attractions are concentrated here. Much of this park is made up of a few smaller gardens, arranged to form an orchid -the symbol flower of Singapore-, each dedicated to a different ecosystem and story.
There are Heritage Gardens, small reconstructions of Chinese, Indian, Malay or colonial gardens; There is the World of Plants, with palm trees, the reconstruction of a forest and much more; there are the Sun Pavillion and the two large lakes (the most beautiful is Dragonfly Lake) and many other small gardens, capable of transporting you every time to a world out of time.
But the attractions of the Gardens by the Bay that attract everyone's attention, however, are three: the first two are closed in two huge steel and glass pavilions. The Flower dome is the largest glass greenhouse in the world, containing an infinite variety of plants and flowers from different parts of the world. It is wonderful to be in the middle of this show, touch the carpet of colorful flowers with one hand or browse among many different succulents with the strangest shapes! The second pavilion of the Gardens by the Bay, on the other hand, is called Cloud forest and encloses a mountain about 35 meters high, with an artificial waterfall and many small different ecosystems that can be encountered as you "climb" the mountain. It is a wonderful opportunity to learn something about biodiversity and endangered species, immersed in a dream environment that will be difficult to forget!
The last major attraction of Gardens by the Bay is known all over the world: in the center of the gardens is the Supertree Grove, the grove composed of these gigantic, futuristic, impressive “super-trees”: veritable tree-shaped vertical gardens, reaching a height between 25 and 50 meters, some with solar panels on the top. Exactly, vertical gardens: the trunks of these "trees" host beyond 160.000 plants belonging to 200 different plant species! A real show, both from a distance and up close, to admire every single detail.
They are amazing in the daytime, but they give their best when the sun goes down and they light up with the Garden Rhapsody: about 10 minutes of lights, sounds, music and colors, a real show that catapults you into a fantastic, almost alien dimension! And finally, you can also buy a ticket to get on OCBC Skyway, the walkway that connects some of these trees at the height of their summit: excitement is guaranteed.
