The North side of Singapore is getting a lot more exciting. 

Rainforest Wild, which is Singapore's fifth wildlife park, has finally launched its first phase, called Rainforest Wild Asia. It will be open to the public on March 12. 

Designed to showcase the different layers of the rainforest from cavern to canopy, it will be the first adventure-based zoological park in Asia. 

The park will have eight exciting zones to explore and is home to a variety of Southeast Asian animal species. Adrenaline junkies can also top-up and try the park's Adventure Plus experiences. 

My colleagues and I got a sneak peek on Wednesday (Feb 13) of what the new park has to offer ahead of its opening — here's what we experienced. 

Explore flexible animal habitats 

Whether you're a chill explorer or someone who enjoys challenging hikes, there are walking routes of varying difficulties for everyone. 

We opted for the more leisurely one which involved exploring the park via elevated walkways. 

There are also rugged routes for the more adventurous visitors, and these involve trekking through the forest floor, river crossings and navigating across streams via logs and boulders. 

No matter what route you take, there's always the opportunity for spontaneous animal encounters thanks to the park's flexible habitats. 

These habitats are much larger as compared to the usual enclosures you see in a zoo, giving the animals more space to roam freely. 

Guests can also walk through these habitats, whether by elevated walkways or forested pathways, allowing them to observe the creatures up close. 

I love how the experience made me feel like I was hiking through an actual rainforest. 

The only downside of this is that guests are not guaranteed a chance to spot all the animals. 

During our experience, we only managed to see nine out of the 29 animal species that call Rainforest Wild Asia home. 

These included the Malayan sun bear, Axis Deer, Dhole and Francois' Langur. 

The highlight for me were the beautiful but elusive Malayan tigers — they were extremely hard to spot! 

Exhilarating add-on experiences 

Apart from the various exploration routes, guests can opt to top-up and try the Adventure Plus experiences. 

There are three available — Canopy Jump, AIA Vitality Bounce and Critter Crawl. Each activity is around 20 minutes long and bookings are required. 

The Canopy Jump costs $30 per pax and involves guests stepping off a 13m or 20m platform 

This was the first experience my colleagues and I tried, and it sure was a thrilling one. 

After being strapped to a harness, we made our ascent to the platforms on top of the tower. 

The hardest part was stepping off the platform. After overcoming that hurdle, we enjoyed the exhilarating rush of free fall, which also allowed us to take in the stunning vistas of the rainforest. 

A more strenuous but equally fun activity would be the AIA Vitality Bounce, which costs $15 per pax. 

This essentially is an open-sky bouncing play area made out of nets suspended 3m above ground. 

It's split into three zones and right at the end, there is even a 9m-long slide. 

While we had a whale of a time jumping around in the netted area, it did get tiring after some time. But it was excellent exercise! 

The final Adventure Plus experience, Critter Crawl, allows guests to don a headlamp to crawl, sidestep and crouch through a 60m cave tunnel. 

This will have stalactites, stalagmite rock formations and fossil imprints. Participants can also get up close to hissing cockroaches through a glass floor panel. 

Tickets for Critter Crawler cost $20 per pax and includes a photo. 

Hydrate and fuel-up 

As the experience involves plenty of walking under the sun, guests need to remember to hydrate. 

Thankfully, there are a number of water coolers dotted around the park so visitors can easily refill their water bottles. 

Feeling peckish? There are also four F&B options where you can go grab a bite — Ranger Cafe, Sentinel Foodhall, Water Hole Cafe and Cavern Restaurant.

Out of the lot, Cavern Restaurant, which is managed by TungLok Group, is definitely the most impressive. 

It's Singapore's first cave restaurant and was inspired by Sarawak's Unesco-listed Mulu Cave. 

Ticket sales for Rainforest Wild Asia open on Feb 12. Single park admission costs $43 for adults, $31 for children aged 3 to 12 years old and $20 for senior citizens. 

There is an opening special price for local residents from Feb 12 to March 31 where ticket prices are $33 for adults and $21 for children. Do note that tickets sold during this period can only be used when the park opens on March 12. 

Those with Friends of Rainforest Wild Asia or Friends of Mandai memberships can enjoy year-round access to Rainforest Wild Asia. 

Address: 20 Mandai Lake Rd, Singapore 729825
Opening hours: 9am to 6pm, last admission at 5pm 

melissateo@asiaone.com

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