On 4 July 2015, the Singapore Botanic Gardens became the first Singaporean heritage area to be inscribed into the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list. The 156 year old Botanic Gardens spans an area of 74 hectares and contains plant specimens from around the region, from bamboos to mature centuries-old trees, and colonial architecture and garden design unique to the region.
This cache is one of three caches placed by the gardens so that you can find a cache before or after your walk though the park.
The cache is located just outside the northern half of the the Botanic Gardens, between the Melati and Bukit Timah Gates of the gardens. It is also conveniently located near the Circle and Downtown Line Botanic Gardens MRT Interchange Station. The Northern part of the Gardens is known as the Bukit Timah Core, and contains some of the more recently developed parts of the Gardens.
The attractions in the Bukit Timah core of the Gardens include:
- The Eco-lake and its surrounding gardens: The Eco-lake area (which stands for both "Ecology" and "Economy") hosts a collection of plants which are valued economically and important to the environment in which they thrive. Amongst the collections here are the Bamboo, Creepers, Fruit, Herbs, Bougainvillae and Spice Gardens. The lake itself hosts a flock of Whistling Ducks which are joy to watch.
- The Jacob Ballas Children's Garden: A children's garden which encourages children to explore, play and learn about the plants in the world around them.
- The Foliage and Healing Gardens: The Foliage Gardens showcases a variety of plants that feature interesting leaves, such as the modified leaves of carnivorous plants like the pitcher plants, to the variegated, multi-coloured leaves of plants cultivated for ornamental purposes. The Healing Gardens feature plants grown for medicinal uses such as the neem tree.