The Cloud Forest was the highlight of Gardens by the Bay for me; It is a gigantic conservatory, with the climate kept cool for the plants! It also houses the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. I really loved the large variety of beautiful flowers and in amongst them were a large number of unique sculptures. It specifically houses tropical highlands plants, so it is appropriate that there would be a 35 meter tall “mountain” in the center. The outside of the mountain was covered with vegetation. Inside of this mountain are the elevator which you ride to the top level, then the escalators and stairways to work your way back down. There are also numerous exhibits and viewpoints from inside of the mountain.
When you enter, you have the waterfall in front of you and can feel it’s mist in the air. Everyone seemed to be getting their picture taken here! Off to the right side was an area with different types of pitcher plants. I’ve not seen more than one kind at a time, so hadn’t really noticed how different various species are! Pitcher plants attract and “eat” insects!
One species of Pitcher plant
As we started along the path, it seemed that our timing coincided with “misting time,” which made photography a little more challenging. Looking up, you can see the bottoms of the various levels of walkways.
Dragon Sculpture
Misting in the Cloud Forest
Another dragon sculpture
So many beautiful flowers!
An amazing sculpture!
The Cloud Walk
Loved this leaf!
There was an interesting exhibit of carnivorous plants made from Lego blocks. Surrounding the Lego creations were a large assortment of actual carnivorous plants. The only one that didn’t have a real-life counterpart was the the Rafflesia, which is the largest flower in the world, native to southeastern Asia, but…. known to have a terrible smell!
Lego Garden of Carnivorous Plants
Once you take the elevator to the top, you are in what’s called the Lost World and from here you can access the Cloud Walk. We had a special treat of getting to see three window washers working, what a job that must be at a place like this!
Lost World
The Cloud Walk and Treetop Walk below
Window Washers
The other walkway with nice views, the Treetop Walk, was down a couple of levels. Here again, you can see fantastic views of the gardens outside of the dome as well as close-ups of the many plants and flowers.
Treetop Walk
Looking up at Cloud Walk from Treetop Walk
More beautiful flowers!
View of Marina Bay Sands from inside of Cloud Forest
The last main area was the Secret Garden, actually below ground level, and representative of a ravine. There was a small river running through and a much different feel from the upper levels.
Fish Sculpture
Secret Garden
I LOVED this piece of artwork! Every time I thought I had finally seen everything, I realized there was something I had missed... unfortunately, one picture just can't do it justice!
I realized once we were inside that you must be able to rent headsets with information, as there were numbered signs…maybe next time! This is one of those places that are so hard to show in pictures, especially so few! I have about 250 pictures, after cleaning them out! I hope you enjoyed the highlights :-)