The Green Corridor in Singapore is an uninterrupted stretch of greenery and woodlands that runs the entire length of Singapore. It is 10.5 km course that begins at the Old Tanjong Pagar Rail Station in the south to the border of Malaysia in the north. While walking on this beautiful trail, one gets lost in the wilderness and momentarily escapes from the busy city.
The last time my father and I went to Green Corridor, we walked from Rail Mall to the Bukit Timah Station. This time, we took the trail from the station to Holland Road and even walked a bit further to Queenstown before leaving the trail and heading home.
The cool, morning mist filled our lungs as we started the trail.
It was really breathtaking to see the tall majestic trees shrouding over us. My ears adjusted quickly to the sounds of nature, the chirping of the birds and the resonant tunes of the cicadas.
We saw many of these butterflies on the trail. They are called Tawny Costers (Acraea terpsicore). The first picture shows a male and the second is the female butterfly.
I saw a stunning Blue Pansy (Junonia orithya) for the first time and it had its wings wide open to pose for me!
There were many beautiful flowers of the Wild Eggplant (Solanum torvum) on the trail. One had a honeybee which seemed to be giving the flower a warm embrace as it pollinated it!
Houseflies can be quite annoying; I can’t argue on that, but I really like their red, compound eyes.
We heard some loud squawks over our heads in one part of of the trail. I looked up to see, high up in the trees, these two Tanimbar Corrella (Cacatua goffiniana) cockatoos! None of the Cockatoos in Singapore are native species. The Tanimbar Correllas are endemic to the Tanimbar Islands in Indonesia.
Some other birds we saw on the trail included the Common Iora, Greater-Racket Tailed Drongo, Long-tailed Parakeet, Ashy Tailorbird and of course Olive-backed sunbirds! I even spotted a White-throated Kingfisher who seemed to be very curious about me!
Common Iora (Aegithina tiphia)
White-throated Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis)
On a bare branch, high up in a tree, I saw a dark colored bird, with an orange bill. I had my doubts that it would be a Myna but after I went a bit closer and photographed it, I realized it was a Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis)! This bird belongs to the Roller family and is named after the blue, coin-shaped spots on its wings (they are not visible in these pictures)
Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis)
There were many dragonflies too, as there were many natural streams flowing alongside the trail’s path.
Scarlet Skimmer (Crocothemis servilia)
Handsome Grenadier (Agrionoptera sexlineata)
Common Scarlet female (Crocothemis erythraea)
Common Scarlet (male)
Common Parasol (Neurothemis flucuans)
There was one damselfly I spotted on the trail, and it was the common, yet beautiful Ornate Coraltail (Ceriagrion cerinorubellum):
Ornate Coraltail
The flora in the trail was also flourishing; with lots of tropical plants that I could recognize, like the Simpoh Air and Tapioca. There were many, colorful flowers that attracted all the butterflies and bees that were buzzing around. There were also big bushes of ferns, an indicator of a healthy, flourishing forest.
Simpoh Air flower
Tapioca
Giant Sword Fern (Nephrolepis biserrata)
Two Skipper butterflies I spotted, surprisingly not skipping around were the Lesser Dart and the Palm Bob!
Lesser Dart (Potanthus omaha omaha) on Tapioca leaf
Palm Bob (Suastus gremius gremius)
Painted Jezebels (Dendrophthoe pentandra) usually like to fly high up in the trees, frolicking in the high canopies. I was so glad I finally saw one flying near the ground. It was still restless and barely stopped in one place for a few seconds.
I’m not very sure of this species of butterfly but it looks like its the Cabbage White (Pieris canidia canidia), named probably because of its dull, greenish white wings!
A nature walk would not be complete without a reptile of some sorts! This Changeable Lizard (Calotes versicolor) made its appearance in the bushes and gave me a cold stare with its red and black eyes.
Changeable Lizard (Calotes versicolor)
I recommend everybody to take one of these handy maps and explore this beautiful trail. It really feels like an adventure while your hiking. You can go on for hours or leave the trail in the middle, in that aspect its great for children and for the elderly. It’s great for runners and cyclists too!
My Nature Experiences 
Beautiful photos! Thank you for pointing out the Green Trail to us. Every time I’m in Singapore I only spend time around those glass and concrete buildings and it’s great to know there’s still a patch of green. I hope it’ll last for a while.
Thank you so much Monika! Yes, it’s quite unfortunate that many people underestimate the nature in Singapore. I do hope the green corridor (along with many wild places) is not removed for development. The Botanical Gardens has now become a UNESCO World Heritage Site! I’m so happy that its a green space that has become the first world heritage site in sg.
Thanks for this information, I didn’t know about it. It’s great that it has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site! :))
My favorite place. 🙂 I miss it – we need to go birding at night there one day.
Yeah, we really do! I need to see those nightjars 😛
I really like the blue pansy butterfly, cockatoos, and dollarbird. We have a dragonfly like yours called the red skimmer. Love the blue damselflies too. Looks like a beautiful place!
So glad you liked it! I loved seeing them too. Especially the blue pansy. It is a beautiful place, and if you’re planning to come to Singapore one day, do visit this trail! 🙂
Actual cockatoos in the wild, sheesh. I have always seen them as television birds, beautiful they look. The rest of the photos and descriptions are amazing as well. Dollarbirds it seems. Never knew they existed! Gorging on them now.
Beautiful pictures and informative writing. Thank you for sharing the beauty of the green corridor that inspires us all to appreciate and cherish the remnants of greenery we have. By the way, I cycled there yesterday and recorded about 10.5 km on MapMyRide app on my iPhone – I started near Tanjong Pagar railway station and exited near Bukit Timah railway station, so I realize the entire green corridor must be longer than 10.5 km, if we measure the distance all the way to Woodlands causeway.
Thank you Jimmy, for reading my post, leaving a comment and for your kind words! I really appreciate it. Wow, that’s amazing- I haven’t been along the whole stretch so I wouldn’t know myself. I just checked up online and that’s what it said, so I’m not very sure 🙂 Thanks again!
What great pictures. It is so interesting to read about the exotic wildlife in Singapore. I look forward to seeing more in your future posts. Thank you for visiting my blog.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog, Nick! I found your blog through Jonathan Soong who has an amazing blog as well.
Very beautiful pictures !!!!!
Thank you so much for reading my blog! I really appreciate your kind words- you are an amazing photographer too!
Lovely photos, keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for your kind words! 🙂
Your welcome, i enjoy reading your blog snd seeing your photos
Just to highlight that the photo of the Simpoh Air “flower” is actually that of the fruit that has “exploded” to disperse its seeds.
Most people assume that is the flower as it really looks like one.
The actual flower is yellow and have more flimsy petals.
Hi! Thank you so much for letting me know. Yes, it looks very much like a flower. In fact I grow Simpoh Air at home and I’ve seen the yellow flowers before, but I think I forgot about that while compiling the post 🙂 Thanks again.