Cloud Forest Review at Garden by the Bay Singapore

The Garden by the Bay is one of the most popular landmarks in Singapore. It is known for its majestic myriad of world-class garden artistry and flora with the rest of the spectacular attractions found only in Singapore. This enormous horticulture attraction shows that Singapore is indeed a home to the best and largest botanical gardens. This phenomenal structure and architecture made Singapore’s dream of having a city in a Garden happened. This project blended nature with technology and systematic environmental sustainability, making it an attraction acclaimed worldwide as it brings all types of plants in the world.

One of the main highlight of Garden by the Bay in Singapore is the Cloud Forest. Cloud forest is a place of the magnificent glass dome with the greenhouse-like, climate-controlled environment for its wide-ranging floral displays. This is a conservatory complex in the Bay South Garden, along with the Flower Dome. Both of these two conservatories are designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, collaborating with Grant Associates, Atelier One, and Atelier Ten. They are home to more than 250,000 varieties and species of plants found all over the world.

• Cloud Forest: Overview

Features a tall mountain in 35 meters height that is full of lush vegetation highlighted by an indoor waterfall, the world’s tallest indoor waterfall, the cloud Forest is like a place of mystery veiled in mist. The gigantic biodome replicates the climate found on top of the mountain, which is usually at 23°C – 25°C and with tropical climate usually found at highland regions at 1,000 meters to 3,000 meters above sea level. The Cloud Forest has a total area of 0.8 hectares or 2.0 acres of land. It is slightly smaller than the Flower Dome but it features the tallest indoor waterfall in the world pours down its water, as well as its mist, from exactly 35 meters or 115 feet above.

• Highlights

Made from column-less glasshouses to minimize environmental footprint, the structure of the Cloud Forest has an energy-efficient sustainable technology intended to keep the building an all-weather space for entertainment and educational purposes. Part of the sustainability system is the collection of rainwater to circulate and connect to Supertrees for cool air and cool water benefiting the entire conservatory complex. Being a climate-controlled glasshouse, the environment here is not affected by climate change.

It’s Cloud Mountain, which can be accessed via an elevator, is at 42 meters or 138 feet high. The slope is between 70-85% covering around 4,000 square meters area. Visitors may choose the circular path to go down to see the waterfall and to experience the refreshing mist and cool air. This intricate structure designed by Grant Associates was made with a number of levels and each level comes with a specific theme like The Cloud Forest Gallery, The Cloud Forest Theatre, The Lost World, The Secret Garden, The Cavern, The Crystal Mountain, and The Waterfall View.

• What to Expect

Upon entering the Cloud Forest glasshouse dome, visitors will be awed by the unique architectural structure and the marvelous innovation of sustainable spaces filled with the best horticulture. Visitors will also get to walk above the clouds and witness the breath-taking tall mountain while walking through the path placed in between fauna and flora. The Skywalk allows visitors to walk along and look down on the glass dome to see the attractions from above.

The highlands are also surrounded by different types of plants found all over the world. From Orchids to Pitcher plants, ferns, and other flowering plants. The flowers and all the tropical vegetation in the dome vary in types depending on the altitudes and themes. At The Lost World, you will find the Lotus pond covered with mosses. Surrounding the area is a display of stalactites and stalagmites, along with the plethora of Orchids in different species and varieties, including Sunflowers and Lilies. Upon reaching the ground, the Secret Garden and the Foothills meet the visitors with its luscious foliage and abundant plants mixed within the pond. To complete the tour, the Cloud Forest Gallery and Theatre are a must-see.

Cloud Forest is not just pure flowers and plants. It also boasts of stunning architectural masterpieces. The dome is made from huge glasses and massive steel grid but no concrete materials around, even for the columns. Aside from the indoor views, the dome also offers breathtaking views of the outdoors, especially the Marina Bay since it is located along the edge of Marina Reservoir.

• What to Experience

From the moment the foot stepped on the dome to enter, visitors get to experience the pleasant floral fragrance from the myriad of flowers and plants. It is like another realm filled with mystery as the mist from the waterfall embraces you and causes you to shiver. The cool-wet climate is sure to chill you down to your bones. No wonder why they require visitors to come with sweatshirts and jackets.

Walking down the spiral walkways gives visitors the experience of the cool mist from the waterfall, as well as of the tropical vegetation. The walkways descend through the Cloud Walk and Treetop Walk, which consist of 122 meters long, giving a jaw-dropping aerial view of the canopy below.

The attraction allows visitors to discover the geology of a cloud forest and the unique diversity it has. As it seeks to capture all the elements contained in a cloud forest environment, it also aims to display the vegetation in such an abstract way. There are more to find and discover in the Cloud Forest at the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore and each step will give you unique experience of flora and fauna.