Mount Faber is Definitely No Everest

Mount Faber Park Map (click to enlarge)

For some reason Mount Faber sounds like a grand peak somewhere in the European Alps when in fact it is more of a hill in Singapore.  To put the size of Mount Faber in perspective consider the highest natural point in San Francisco, Mount Davidson.  Mount Davidson is 928 feet (283 m) above sea level while Mount Faber in Singapore is about a thrid of that at 344 feet (105m) .

I was told by my friend who happens to be from Singapore that Mount Faber was a great place to visit for anyone who likes to take pictures as there are some of the best views of Singapore.  Mount Faber is actually a entire park which you can view the map to the right.

I wanted to get some good day, dusk and night photographs of Singapore so I decided to head to Mount Faber around 4pm on a Monday.  It was on the other side of Singapore from Geylang where I was staying.

Mount Faber Park (in between groups of tourist busses)

Getting to Mount Faber

Mount Faber is accessible from the HarborFront MRT station but I took the taxi from my hotel.  My taxi driver gave me a heart stopping moment as he floored the beater taxi up the steep and curvy road to Mount Faber causing the car to lose control.  The taxi fistailed in 3 big curves before he gained control about 10 meters from hitting an oncoming tourist bus.

The taxi driver dropped me off at the Jewel Box which is a Singapore Cable Car Station / restaurant / bar.  I went in and talked to a couple of the ladies working there and took a couple of photos.  I was offered a drink at the outdoor restaurant/bar but I was ready to explore Mount Faber park while it was still light.

I found a good viewpoint to shoot some shots at the time and later then I carried on upwards.  Amidst several tourist buses with Japanese and Chinese tourists I found some relaxing areas.  The path pictured above is next to a very steep drop off looked like it was set up for a view of the harbor bay but the only view was the dense vegetation.  The sun was going down fast so I decided to climb up to the peak.

Steps going up to Mount Faber's Peak

Mount Faber Peak

I was profusely sweating in the very humid weather as I hiked further up Mount Faber to get to the peak.  It was around 5pm and the tourist groups were filtering out so I was almost by myself which was nice just to hear the birds and sounds of what’s left of the rain forest.  Up the steps pictured above was the peak of Mount Faber which had a surprise for me.

There was a outdoor hall area with a couple dozen plaques showing Singapore’s past in pictures as well as words.  I thought it was pretty interesting as you could walk around and go through the history of Singapore.

Just when I thought I had learned some knowledge I got to the very top where there was a cool illuminated, compass-like display on the ground.  You can see in the photo on the top of this post.  The arrows are actually pointing to other countries and cities.  On the ground close to each arrow is a name of the city or country the arrow is pointing to.  The views on the top are great although there are a few obstructions from getting perfect shots.

I took a bunch of photos of Singapore and the surround Harbor Bay before I left to find some air conditioning and some cold water.  There were no cabs on the peak as it was pretty much dark after I was done shooting photos so I decided to walk down.  On the way down I saw numerous joggers and couples going on relaxing walks.  There was a mixture of paths and steps going down towards a residential looking area of Singapore which had the Central Business District in the background.

View the Full Mount Faber Photo Archive at tourismPICS.com

Singapore History Plaques towards the Peak of Mount Faber

Overall Impression

Mount Faber is what it is.  The human made as well as natural highest point of any city is always going to be a place I want to check out.  There are a lot of relaxing areas with tables and chairs throughout the parts of Mount Faber Park that I saw.  I enjoyed the mini-history and geography lessons that the peak offered.  In addition to the large “Jewel Box” restaurant there was a smaller outdoor restaurant which would be a nice, quiet place for a meal with a great view.  Anyone visiting Singapore will find Mount Faber a good place to spend a couple hours whether it be sight seeing, dining or exercising.

View the Full Mount Faber Photo Archive at tourismPICS.com

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