Sentosa Island in Singapore
Asia Tourism
Sentosa is an important island in Asia Tourism with the area of five square kilometers located 500 meters from at the Southern end of Singapore which made Singapore the Star of Asia. 70 percent of this island is secondary rainforest, act as the habitat for monkeys, monitor lizard, parrots, peacocks and other native fauna and flora with 3.2 kilometers of coastline. Sentosa along with its neighbor island, Brani play important role as natural protector for Singapore Keppel Harbor, one of the most active harbors in the world from high tide and monsoon.
Sentosa played important part in the past as important military base and was fortified in order to defend the harbor and coal supply. Sentosa was also used as fortress by British Military during the World War II. After the Allied Forces surrendered to Japan on 15 February 1942, Sentosa functioned as war camp to imprison Australian and British prisoners. Sentosa was developed by Singapore Government in 1970 as holiday resort for local tourists and visitors. S$420 million of private funds and S$500 million from government funds was used for that purpose.
Available attractions in Sentosa Island:
Underwater World and Dolphin Lagoon: An oceanarium located at the West side of Sentosa. Launched in 1991, this oceanarium’s collection consists of 250 ocean species from different parts in the world. The oceanarium is equipped with 83 meters long travelator moves along the submerged tunnel with glass window where visitors can observe the ocean creatures such as fish, turtle, coral and shark. The Dolphin Lagoon accommodates some humpback dolphins from Indo-Pacific where meet the dolphin session is held daily.
Merlion: This 37 meters structure was opened on 1996 where visitors can view the entire city from its 12th floor.
Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom: Butterfly Park has the collection of 15,000 butterflies from more than 50 species, while the Insect Kingdom houses approximately 3,000 rare insects’ species from the entire world.
Fort Siloso: This is another tourist attraction on the West side of Sentosa Island. The fort was built in 1880 by the British to protect the narrow Keppel Harbor’s west entrance. Displays include barracks, ammunition bunkers, the fort’s gun emplacements as well as collections of documents, photographs and film. Several New Year’s Eve party such as the Siloso New Year Eve Splash are annually held at Siloso Beach. Read the rest of this entry »