Gardens By The Bay
Marina South, Singapore
Marina South, Singapore
June 2013
The Cloud Forest is a mysterious world veiled in mist. A 35-metre tall mountain covered in lush vegetation shrouds the world’s tallest indoor waterfall showcasing plant life from the tropical highlands up to 2,000 metres above sea level.
First impression of Cloud Forest - WOW!
The waterfall greets you, spray douses you, and the thunder of the falling water surrounds you!
The "Cloud Mountain" itself is an intricate structure completely clad in Epiphytes such as orchids, ferns, peacock ferns, spike and clubmosses, bromeliads and anthuriums. It consists of a number of levels, each with a different theme.
The entry level contains plants from the lower regions, foothills and includes numerous ferns, orchids, rare conifers, camelias and much more. From the entry level an elevator goes to the top of the "mountain", the Lost World.
An explosion of colour in the beautiful blooms...
Be charmed by the miniature trains chugging round the little town...
The Lost World contains pitcher plants, fly-traps, orchids, ferns and club-mosses as well as a single Keteleeria.
That top-of-the-world feeling...
Orchids galore...
Stone sculptures add to the mystique...
Make a wish at the top of the waterfall...
Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. Foraging, flying or crawling insects such as flies are attracted to the cavity formed by the cupped leaf, often by visual lures such as anthocyanin pigments, and nectar bribes. The rim of the pitcher (peristome) is slippery, when moistened by condensation or nectar, causing insects to fall into the trap. They drown the insect, and the body of it is gradually dissolved.
The Cloud Walk is an aerial walkway around the top of the mountain giving both a closer view of the Epiphytes growing on the outside of the mountain, and a view from above on the entry level below.
Be enthralled by mist sprayed lightly from sprinklers around the walk...
Errrm... Feet seem glued to the see-through walkway in anticipation... It's such a looong way down!
That is why Merlion Wayfarer is full of admiration for the Landscaping Heroes
who have to rappel downwards to keep the waterfall mountain lush and green!
The Cavern and the Crystal Mountain contain exhibitions of mineralogy and caves.
A stalaCtite ("C" for ceiling) is a type of speleothem (secondary mineral) that hangs from the ceiling of limestone caves. It is a type of dripstone. A stalaGmite ("G" for ground) is a type of speleothem that rises from the floor of a limestone cave due to the dripping of mineralized solutions and the deposition of calcium carbonate. If these formations grow together, the result is known as a column.
The Treetop Walk is a lower level aerial walkway enabling a walk amongst the treetops.
An unexpected surprise - Preview the F18s flying by for the NDP rehearsal...
A good view of the approaching thunderstorm - See the dark angry Cumulonimbus clouds coming...
The Secret Garden contains plants from ravines and tree ferns from New Zealand.
Walk through a waterfall curtain and past giant snails...
Watch out for the lion and the alligator!
Clean toilets with forest-themed wallpaper...
Earth Check and +5 degrees are exhibitions (including a video show) on what might happen if the temperate of the planet rises with an average of 5 degrees Celsius due to global warming.
Just a temperature change of 0.3 degrees Celsius is enough
to create dire changes to the world as we know it now...
to create dire changes to the world as we know it now...
Make the change today, live a greener lifestyle now...
(This article is part of Merlion Wayfarer Goes Green's Gardens By The Bay series.)
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