District 26 · Outside Central Region
Upper Thomson · Springleaf · Mandai
Wildlife, reservoirs and forest living... Singapore's nature quarter on the edge of the central catchment.
Image: Upper Seletar Reservoir · RectorRocks · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
The History
Singapore's green north, defined by water.
District 26 has always been Singapore's green north. Mandai is home to the country's world-famous wildlife parks — the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari, joined in 2012 by the River attraction — set among forest beside the Upper Seletar Reservoir.
Upper Thomson grew quietly along its namesake road, threaded between reservoirs, golf courses and plant nurseries; its Teacher's Estate took its name from the schoolteachers and civil servants who first settled there. For decades this was a low-key, leafy district defined by water and trees rather than towns, its private landed homes and pockets of housing tucked into one of the most naturally rich parts of the island.
What's Changing
A nature quarter, newly within reach.
The district's connectivity and appeal have been transformed by the Thomson-East Coast Line, whose Upper Thomson and Springleaf stations opened in 2021 and put this once out-of-the-way area within a direct ride of the city. Around Springleaf, the line is unlocking around two thousand new homes alongside new nature-based recreation.
At Mandai, the wildlife reserve has been reimagined as an integrated nature precinct of 126 hectares, and 2025 saw the opening of the Mandai Rainforest Resort — the first hotel within the reserve, its rooms set among the canopy overlooking the Upper Seletar Reservoir. The result is a district that pairs rare access to nature with new homes and new ways to stay close to the wild.
Why Live Here
Four reasons District 26 is the green choice.
Nature and wildlife
The Mandai wildlife parks, reservoirs and central catchment forests make this Singapore's greenest district.
Newly connected
The Thomson-East Coast Line links Upper Thomson and Springleaf directly to the city.
Tranquil, leafy living
Landed homes and low-rise estates sit among reservoirs, golf courses and forest.
Room to grow
New homes around Springleaf and the Mandai eco-precinct are adding to the district's appeal.