Handpicked experience · Singapore
Singapore, Singapore
A hilltop that counts as high on an island whose summit is 163 metres, an island renamed away from meaning death, and the world's busiest refuelling anchorage below.
Uninterrupted sight lines over the harbour from an enclosed cabin
A summit lookout with forest paths and places to sit
A view that takes in working container terminals as well as the skyline
A short activity that slots easily beside anything else
A cable car ride in a glass-sided cabin up to Mount Faber, one of the higher points on a notably flat Singapore, with views over the harbour, the container terminals and the resort island offshore. Most people give the whole outing one to two hours.
The ride itself is short. What fills the time is the hilltop at the far end — a lookout, walking paths through secondary forest, and somewhere to sit with the view. Cabins are enclosed and glazed on all sides, so this works in rain as well as sun, and the sight lines are the reason to choose it over a road up.
The resort island the line runs towards was called Pulau Belakang Mati for centuries — usually translated as the island behind which lies death, though nobody agrees whether that refers to piracy, disease or the shipping hazards beyond it. It was renamed in 1972, through a public competition, to a word meaning peace and tranquillity. The rebranding worked so completely that the older name now surprises people who have been going there all their lives.
Mount Faber rises about a hundred and five metres, which sounds modest until you learn that the highest natural point in the entire country is only a hundred and sixty-three. The hill is named after a Madras Engineers officer who built the road to the summit in the 1840s so that a signal station could be put there — the summit's usefulness has always been about what you can see from it.
The water below holds one of the busiest anchorages on earth. Much of what you can see is not arriving or departing but waiting: this is the world's largest refuelling port, and vessels stop here to take on fuel, stores and crew before continuing. On a clear day the line of ships runs to the horizon, and almost none of them are calling at the island for any other reason.
What is covered depends on the line and cabin option chosen at booking. There is no hotel transfer, and food, drinks and anything else at the top are your own. Cabins run in most weather but can pause in lightning, which is common here. The ticket cannot be cancelled once booked.
Open it to pick a date and work out the price.
What the fare covers, and what to budget for separately.
The practical detail, and the answers people actually ask for.
One to two hours for most people. The ride itself is short; the time goes on the hilltop lookout, the paths and sitting with the view.
Pulau Belakang Mati, usually rendered as the island behind which lies death. Accounts differ on whether that meant piracy, disease or the shipping hazards past it. It was renamed in 1972 through a public competition.
Here, yes. The highest natural point in the whole country reaches only a hundred and sixty-three metres, so the island's relief is measured in tens of metres rather than hundreds.
An officer of the Madras Engineers who built the road to the summit in the 1840s so a signal station could be established there. The hill has been valued for its sight lines ever since.
Because this is the world's largest refuelling port. Much of the anchorage is vessels stopping for fuel, stores and crew changes rather than cargo, before carrying on elsewhere.
Yes — the cabins are fully enclosed and glazed. Lightning is the thing that pauses operations, and it is common in this climate.
That depends on the line and cabin option chosen at booking. There is no hotel transfer, and anything you eat or buy at the top is separate.