Букит Тимах: Природный заповедник Сингапура

Protected area in Singapore

The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve (abbreviation: BTNR) is a nature reserve near the geographic centre of Singapore, located on the slopes of Bukit Timah Hill, the country's highest natural peak standing at a height of approximately , and parts of the surrounding area, located actually in Bukit Panjang. The nature reserve is about from the Downtown Core, Singapore's central business district (CBD). Together with the neighbouring Central Catchment Nature Reserve (CCNR) in close proximity, it houses over 840 species of flowering plants and over 500 species of fauna. Today, it is one of the largest patches of primary rainforest left in Singapore. The forest reserve was formally declared as an ASEAN Heritage Park on 18 October 2011.

The name Bukit Timah is borrowed from the tallest hill found in the area of the same name, which is also the tallest geographical location in all of Singapore. Bukit means hill in the Malay language, while Timah means tin. It is directly translated to English as "Tin Hill". The hill served as a granite quarry for many years, but since the mid 1900s, all operations of which has since been abandoned and converted into recreational areas and even filming locations.

In 1882, Nathaniel Cantley, then Superintendent of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, was commissioned by the Government of the Straits Settlements to prepare a report on the forests of the settlements. On Cantley's recommendation, several forest reserves were created on Singapore island over the next few years. Bukit Timah was one of the first forest reserves established in 1883. All the reserves were worked for timber with the exception of Bukit Timah Reserve. By 1937, the forest reserves were depleted under economic pressures for development. However, three areas, including the Bukit Timah Reserve, were retained for the protection of flora and fauna under the management of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. In 1951, further protection of the reserves were provided by the enactment of a Nature Reserves Ordinance and the establishment of a Nature Reserves Board for the administration of the reserves, now designated as nature reserves, which total some 28 square kilometres in area. Today, the nature reserves are set aside for the propagation, protection and preservation of the indigenous flora and fauna of Singapore under the National Parks Act and are managed by the National Parks Board.

The primary activities at Bukit Timah are strolling, running and hiking. There are also smaller groups of people who rock climb and abseil at the Dairy Farm quarry as well as mountain biking. There are specially allocated mountain bike trails around the area and Bukit Timah Mountain Bike (MTB) Trail is located within the Reserve. The 6.5 km MTB trail loop around Bukit Timah Hill and stretched between Hinhinde Park and Dairy Farm Road. The trail represents a tropical rocky terrain with extended technical climbs and difficult descents at short intervals. For MTB Map trail rating, it is largely made up of black diamond sections with intermittent blue square sections. There are also short alternative double black diamond sections. The Reserve is popular among athletes training for mountain climbing. There are a number of hiking trails. The blue trail is rated as "easy" and is long, ending overlooking Hindhede Quarry. The red trail is also rated as "easy" and is long. Common insect species include cicadas and giant forest ants (Camponotus gigas). The government hopes that the Eco Link@BKE will allow the Raffles' banded langur to repopulate Bukit Timah from Central Catchment once the vegetation matures.

The greater racket tailed drongo is one of the most common birds at Bukit Timah (Dicrurus paradiseus).

In 2011 the National Parks Board and the Land Transport Authority announced a plan to construct an ecological corridor, the Eco Link@BKE, at the Bukit Timah Expressway to connect Bukit Timah Nature Reserve with the nearby Central Catchment Nature Reserve. Construction was completed in late 2013. The Eco Link is an hourglass shaped bridge passing over the expressway, permitting wildlife to pass between the two reserves. The reserves had been separated since the expressway was built.