Bukit Batok Nature Reserve and Lorong Sesuai

Singapore is small enough that a decent run usually strings together two or three adjacent places, and this one pairs Bukit Batok Nature Reserve with the quiet residential stretch of Lorong Sesuai next to it.

The park itself centres on a disused granite quarry that’s filled in as a pond — genuinely one of the more striking spots in Singapore to run past.

bukit batok nature park view from car park direction — The view heading in from the car park — this is where most runs here start.

bukit batok nature park up slope — The first climb — this park doesn’t ease you in.

bukit batok nature park winding up slope — The path winds rather than climbs straight — makes the grade a little more forgiving.

bukit batok nature park fitness corner — A fitness corner along the way, if you want to break up the climb.

bukit batok nature park shelter — One of the shelters dotted through the park — useful when Singapore’s afternoon rain decides to show up.

bukit batok nature park little stream towards pond — A little stream feeding down toward the quarry pond.

bukit batok nature park lookout point — The lookout point over the old granite quarry — now a pond, and the park’s centrepiece.

bukit batok nature park lookout point shelter — The shelter right at the lookout — a good spot to catch your breath and take it in.

bukit batok nature park pond plaza — Down at the pond plaza, level with the water.

At the top of the hill there’s a WWII memorial plaque and a lookout point over the quarry and pond. It’s also busier with wildlife than you’d expect this close to the city: flying squirrels, white-crested laughingthrush, monkeys, red junglefowl, and fish in the pond.

bukit batok nature park up hill top — The last stretch up to the hill top.

bukit batok nature park hill top war memorial — The WWII memorial plaque at the hill top — worth the climb for the history alone.

bukit batok nature park hill top green tower — The old green tower marking the hill top.

bukit batok hill top communication tower — The communication tower up top — not much of a view from ground level, but you’ve earned the summit either way.

bukit batok nature park going down — Heading back down — easier on the legs, harder on the knees.

bukit batok nature park undulating paths — The undulating paths that give this park its terrain rating.

bukit batok nature park public toilet — The public toilet, deep inside the park near the pond plaza — the only one on the route.

bukit batok nature park exit towards lorong sesuai — The exit that connects the park straight into Lorong Sesuai.

Lorong Sesuai itself is the opposite register — quiet, rustic bungalows, the closest thing to “remote living” you’ll find in Singapore. You’ll pass the occasional dog walker or fellow runner. There’s a steeper alternative entrance into Bukit Batok from here that climbs hard but rewards you with better views and, usually, a troop of monkeys along the way.

lorong sesuai going in — Turning into Lorong Sesuai — a quiet landed residential road.

lorong sesuai up slope — The steep alternative entrance back into the park from Lorong Sesuai.

lorong sesuai depth round about — Further into Lorong Sesuai — rustic bungalows sprawled sparingly along the road.

lorong sesuai going down slope — Heading back down the slope out of Lorong Sesuai.

lorong sesuai going down slope low view — Same slope, from lower down — gives a better sense of the grade.

One real caution: there have been cobra sightings reported in Lorong Sesuai, and I wouldn’t run this alone or at night, especially if you’re a woman running solo — there’s a history of both crime and pond-related and fallen-tree incidents here in wet weather. Worth knowing before you go, not meant to scare you off entirely.

The run itself: hilly, slopes and undulating paths, pavement/tarmac/grass mixed. Electronic parking and bus access at the park; a public toilet near the pond plaza, no food options directly on the route.