The romantic island getaway of Sentosa in Singapore has just welcomed its latest attraction – Sentosa Sensoryscape, an experiential attraction transforming the busy thoroughfare between Resorts World Sentosa and the island’s beaches into a 30,00- square-metre sensorial extravaganza with six distinct zones.
The 350-metre connector between the Beach and Imbiah train stations features nature-driven architecture that celebrates Sentosa’s rich biodiversity in the day, before transforming at night into a stunning audiovisual display of digital light art backed up by an immersive soundscape.
Whether you’re traversing the sheltered lower deck – complete with ceiling fans to cool off on extra scorching days – or the exposed upper walkway, you’ll get a chance to pass through all of Sentosa Sensoryscape’s six experiential zones. Each one is based on one of the five senses, with the final zone inspired by imagination.
As you can expect, each distinct zone provides its own flavour of island-inspired sensorial pleasure in its own right – though you can slap on a layer of augmented reality wizardry via the ImagiNite app, which also acts as a camera.
Starting from Resorts World Sentosa, you’ll first reach Lookout Loop, which offers panoramic views as far as the eye can see from its highest point, stretching from the northern part of Sentosa all the way to the sea further south of the island.
Next comes Tactile Trellis, a texture-focused sensory garden featuring various flora of the touchy-feely variety, ranging from soft, velvet-like Chinese Wormwood shrubs to thorny Juniperus plants.
Smell comes thereafter with the Scented Sphere, a forest-like steel vessel crested by a ring of overhanging arms loaded with – you’ve guessed it – plants with an olfactory slant.
Once your nose is satisfied, you can keep moving along to Symphony Streams, which leans away from all those flowers and ferns with a cascading water feature instead. Great if you’re looking for a little sound therapy on your journey southwards.
Don’t tire out yet – Palate Playground is just ahead, featuring all the edible plants and aromatic herbs that make Singaporean food as good as it is.
The last and final stop on your journey along Sentosa Sensoryscape is Glow Garden, which really comes to life at night when its towering flower stalks, well, glow with a symphony of shifting colours.
In any case, you’d want to be around in the evening from 7.50pm. This is when ImagiNite, a unique outdoor multimedia light show, takes place. It weaves digital light art projection mappings, floor projections, and augmented reality features (through the ImagiNite app) for a mesmerising experience.
The kicker? Sentosa Sensoryscape is entirely free, since it’s primarily a cosmetic upgrade to one of the island’s many busy routes – though of course, you’ll still have to foot the entrance fee.
Sentosa Sensoryscape is open daily, with the ImagiNite experience starting nightly from 7.50pm. For more information, visit sensoryscape.sentosa.com.sg.
