Windsor Nature Park. Photo courtesy of National Parks Board.

In April, Singapore moved closer to founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s vision of a “garden city” with the unveiling of Windsor Nature Park, the island republic’s latest large-scale green space. Spanning 75 heavily forested hectares, the park is the fourth of five new reserves connected to the massive 2,880-hectare Central Catchment Nature Reserve. At Windsor, the easy network of trails—some of them raised wooden platforms—include the 350-meter Hanguana Trail, where you can view curated native flora, and the Drongo Trail, which winds through lush secondary rain forest. The Javanese flying squirrel, copper-cheeked frog, and banded leaf monkey are among the park’s elusive residents. If you’re feeling ambitious, from the park’s entrance it’s a seven-kilometer hike to MacRitchie Reservoir Park’s spectacular TreeTop Walk, a 250-metre suspension bridge linking the Central Catchment’s two highest points.

This article originally appeared in the June/July 2017 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Nurturing Nature”).