Bukit Peirce
9th (or maybe 8th) Highest Hill in Singapore It is more famous for being one of the two hills (the other being Bukit Kalang), between which the 'Tree Top Walk' bridge is slung.
Height: 86.59 m [Trigonometric height according to the map: Singapore 1:50,000 Series SMU 075, Edition 4 (Mapping Unit, Ministry of Defense, Singapore, 1987)]
Location: 1°21'37.1"N 103°48'45.9"E
View of Bukit Kalang (right) and Peirce Hill (left). They look lower than they really are, as the water level is already at ~40 m above sea level. Picture taken from Upper Peirce Reservoir Park. If you strain your eyes you may be able to see the 'Tree Top Walk' bridge slung between the two hills. (2020-08-30)
Route to Summit: Take the Peirce track (Which leads to the start of the tree top walk (currently under maintenance till May 2021)). Do not go onto the tree top walk, but stay on the path leading upwards. The end of the path should be (or very near) the summit of Bukit Peirce (I have not verified this as the tree top walk is currently under maintenance till May 2021.
Other Names: Bukit Pierce (misspelling that appeared rather frequently)
History:
Bukit Peirce is probably named after the Peirce reservoirs (Upper and Lower). Originally known as Kallang River reservoir, It was renamed Peirce reservoir in 1922 in honour of Robert Peirce, who was the municipal engineer, responsible for the building of the reservoir.
On the Singapore topographcal maps, as far as I can tell, it was only on the 1983 edition that the hill got a name, and it was a printed with the wrong spelling "PIERCE". The hill was probably named after the Peirce Reservoirs which the hill overlooks. The name finally got corrected in the 2005 1:25000 map of Singapore (see below, retrieved from libmaps.nus.edu.sg).
Other Information: Non Currently
Photo Gallery:
View of Bukit Kalang (right) and Bukit Peirce (left). They look lower than they really are, as the water level is already at ~40 m above sea level. Picture taken from Upper Peirce Reservoir Park. If you strain your eyes you may be able to see the 'Tree Top Walk' bridge slung between the two hills. (2020-08-30)
View of Bukit Kalang (right) and Bukit Peirce (left). In the background, you can see Bukit Timah Hill, with its radio towers. Picture taken from a HDB flat along Sin Ming Avenue. (2021-03-27)
View of Bukit Peirce (Centre) from Lower Peirce Reservoir Park. The patch of meadow on the left is the golf course of Singapore Island Country Club. (2021-03-27)
Updated: 27th March 2021