Skip to Content

The mysterious Keppel Hill Reservoir and Seah Im Bunker

While 2020 was a bit of a bust in terms of travelling, I did end up exploring more unusual corners of Singapore and realised we have a lot more reservoirs, quarry pools and green spaces that I’d never really taken the time to explore before. This time I headed down south to the Keppel and Telok Blangah area to find the once-forgotten Keppel Hill reservoir and the hidden Seah Im Bunker dating back to WWII.

Most people come to this area to visit Mount Faber, head to the theme park island of Sentosa, or even take a hike along the famous Southern Ridges, but if you’re looking for something a little more unusual, check out this reservoir and bunker while you are here. The best part is that they really aren’t difficult to get to at all.


Keppel Hill Reservoir

Keppel Hill Reservoir appears on Google Maps these days, but did you know this reservoir was actually forgotten for about 60 years or so? While it was first documented in Singapore’s maps in 1924, it somehow became unlisted in the 1950s, and it was only in 2014 when the National Heritage Board ‘rediscovered’ its location and put it back on the map again.

Keppel Hill Reservoir Quarry Pool
Keppel Hill Reservoir on a cloudy day is still a rather pretty blue-green colour
Keppel Hill Reservoir Shoes
My muddy shoes

The pool is said to be 2m deep and about 1/3 the size of an Olympic swimming pool. While it started off as a reservoir collecting water, its relatively small size soon made it fall out of use, which is probably one of the reasons it became forgotten. Local residents never forgot the place and used it as their swimming pool, evident in the remnants of the diving board and steps left behind today. I wouldn’t dive in now though – there really is no telling what’s in the water or how deep it is exactly!

Keppel Hill Reservoir Steps
Remains of the diving board. It does look a bit creepy because they don’t seem to lead anywhere!
Keppel Hill Reservoir Steps Me
Who is that girl I see… OK I’d be quite freaked out if there was someone staring straight back at me
Keppel Hill Reservoir Blue Water Pool
Can you see the ledge in the water? Probably steps that helped swimmers get in and out of the reservoir

Keppel Hill Reservoir today is a quiet place surrounded by lots of dense foliage and an interesting oddity to check out while in the area. On it’s own it’s not much of a proper hike as it’s not really along any proper hiking routes per se, but you could check out the Seah Im Bunker as well (more below), or walk the Marang Trail or Mount Faber which are in hiking distance.

No. 11 Keppel Hill

Keppel Hill Reservoir No 11 House
No entry into No. 11 Keppel Hill for now – the government has reclaimed the building, what are they restoring it into?

Curious about the interior of No. 11 Keppel Hill? Check out this Youtube video by PIREX, someone who managed to enter No. 11 Keppel Hill while they were doing some maintenance in late 2019 – his video shows the size and not completely antique layout of the interior of this Colonial house. Also interestingly, someone in the comments actually worked in an architect’s office which was based in the building alongside their home.

How to get to Keppel Hill Reservoir

Getting to Keppel Hill Reservoir is surprisingly easy, albeit quite a muddy affair so I highly recommend hiking shoes if you have them, and to pick a drier period if you can. It took me about 15-20 mins of walking from where I parked my car at Wishart Road to get to the reservoir, so it really is quite easy to get to.

There aren’t any proper signs though – I relied on other people’s blogs to find the location, so I’ll help you guys out here too:

Keppel Hill Reservoir Wishart Road
Turn into Wishart Road off Keppel Road. There are some parallel street parking lots here, as well as a cafe and kopitiam to fuel up at
Keppel Hill Reservoir Road Sign
Wishart Road is to your left. Turn right towards Keppel Hill Road.
Keppel Hill Reservoir Road
Walking up Keppel Hill Road, there are some stone structures in a gated area on the left, no idea what that was. Note that there usually is a barrier so you can’t drive up, but if you do, there isn’t anywhere for you to stop at or turn around properly at so I wouldn’t advise it.
Keppel Hill Reservoir Path Fork
Take the left fork – the right brings you to the gate of No. 11 Keppel Hill
Keppel Hill Reservoir Muddy Path
There’s a really muddy section that there’s no way to get around. Head to the path on the right
Keppel Hill Reservoir Path Forest
You’ll have to pass through some foliage. The reservoir is a short distance from here

Seah Im BUnker

Just down the road from Keppel Hill is the Seah Im Food Centre, which is where the Harbourfront MRT entrance is located and right across the road from Vivocity Shopping Centre. The carpark is notable for a very tall heritage-status Kapok Tree (the national tree of Puerto Rico), and right behind it is the mysterious Seah Im Bunker.

Seah Im Bunker
Seah Im Bunker

Not much is known about this bunker or why it was built, just that it was likely around the time of WWII and possibly used for weapons storage or housing prisoners of war. The bunker was surprisingly easy to get to – I was expecting to do a bit more hiking, but it’s literally 5m away from the tree once you slip past the fence. I didn’t go into the bunker (accounts I’d read said there were a ton of lizards on the bunker walls and roof which… I do not fancy falling on me) but it’s not that deep and doesn’t have any particular furnishing.

If you’re curious about the history of Seah Im Road, Remember Singapore has a pretty good post detailing some of the history and landmarks in the surrounding area.

How to get to Seah Im Bunker

There are 2 carparks on either side of Seah Im Food Centre – you’ll want to head to the larger Seah Im Carpark off Seah Im Road (NOT Marang Road Carpark). The carpark here is quite large and has accommodations for large trucks and vehicles as well.

Look out for the really, really tall Kapok tree – there’s a fence on either side of the tree but just enough space to slip through. The bunker is right behind it.

Seah Im Bunker Carpark
The Kapok Tree was last measured to be 34m tall!
Seah Im Bunker Forest
The moment you pass the fence, there’s a drain of sorts to step over, and you can already sorta see the bunker

What some people do is hike from the Seah Im Bunker over to Keppel Hill Reservoir, and it is possible, though it does require clambering up a rather steep slope and some more muddy trekking. I didn’t do it because I was on my own (also, lazy), but apparently there is a grave of a Japanese soldier somewhere around this area as well if you are inclined to do a little bit of searching.

Seah Im Bunker Pano
Here’s a pano shot so you can see the surroundings better – the slope with the rope (next photo) is on the left
Seah Im Bunker Slope Path
It’s a really steep slope but there is a rope installed to help climbers

Have you been to Keppel Hill Reservoir or Seah Im Bunker? Tell me what I might have missed in the comments.

Looking for more posts about Singapore? Check out all my posts about Singapore’s lesser known corners to plan your next exploration of Singapore.

penny

Saturday 9th of September 2023

I went to seah im bunker and there was strangely a chair inside the tunnel

Jaclynn Seah

Sunday 10th of September 2023

I.... probably don't want to know why haha!

Dina

Wednesday 5th of May 2021

Hey Jaclynn,

I just went to the reservoir last weekend and we managed to follow a small path through the forest that got us all the way to the top of Mt Faber. The path was on the left of the reservoir and we had no idea where it led at first, but once we realised we were going up, we had a pretty good guess! Exciting stuff.

Jaclynn Seah

Thursday 6th of May 2021

thanks for the tip! sounds like you had fun :)

Ju-Lyn

Friday 26th of March 2021

This is very exciting! I've explored quite a bit of the Mt Faber area but have never encountered Keppel Hill till now - another new spot to check out!

P/S Found you through your "Where to find Street Art in Chinatown" post - was googling Zach's mural at the corner of Upp Cross St & South Bridge Road and loved your capture of both parts of 2 Children riding the Golden Dragon.

Jaclynn Seah

Friday 26th of March 2021

It's still surprising to me how Singapore can have all these hidden spots even though it seems to built up already! Thanks for dropping by Ju-Lyn, have fun exploring!

Mike

Monday 15th of March 2021

Thanks for the post. We will know where to go the next time we visit Singapore.

myline

Friday 26th of February 2021

Today, there are several double-storey private residential houses still existing at the end of Seah Im Road.