Experience Fort Siloso at dusk at Battle For Singapore 2025’s signature event – Fort Siloso Twilight Tour. Get armed with lamps as you experience a “brownout” in a tunnel, hear about the fort’s role in World War 2 contrary to popular belief that guns pointed in the wrong direction and learn more about the historical significance of this national monument.
Fort Siloso Twilight Tour – Battle for Singapore 2025
My teen and I went on the Fort Siloso Twilight Tour on a breezy evening, rivetted by tales of the fort, led by historian Dr John Kwok and Deputy Manager, Recreational Nodes Unit, Environmental Management Division, Sentosa, Muhammad Saifullah Kamaludin.
Do note that children below 12 will need to be accompanied by an adult while on the tour.
3 Recycling Adventures: Fun Ideas For Kids & Families
1:1 & Small Group English Lessons: How to Get Personalised, English Help
What is Fort Siloso?
One of Sentosa’s four military forts, Fort Siloso is the only well-preserved coastal fort that is open for visitors. Its underground complex, casemates, tunnels, guns give us an insight of what fortification was like during World War 1 and World War 2.
Work on Fort Siloso started in 1878 as part of the trade protection with ships plying the straits. Then during World War 2, we knew how events unfolded as the Japanese swiftly overcame the Allied forces in Singapore.
During the Japanese Occupation, Fort Siloso was used as a Prisoner of War camp. After the war, it was reoccupied by British forces before being handed over to the Singapore government in 1967.
In 1975 Fort Siloso was a guns and weapons museum with other guns relocated from areas like Mandai on display at the fort.
These nuggets of information were fed to us through the immersive tour which made history come alive right before our eyes.
Our Route at Fort Siloso Twilight Tour
It was a rare opportunity for visitors to be in Fort Siloso past 6 pm! It was a very different experience seeing the fort after dark. Perhaps it brought some reality to the time when dark shadows were cast upon Singapore.
On the whole, it was an easy walk and very doable for active individuals.
First we passed the Waves of the Strait – Yip Yew Chong’s work detailing Sentosa’s past, then the Siloso pier which was used to service Fort Siloso and a popular fishing spot for soldiers.
Next we paused and looked over to Labrador Park. Just a distance away across the straits, over 80 years ago, there would have been a fierce battle raging at Fort Pasir Panjang. Our guides reminded us that the smoke and sounds would have reverberated through the air and heard by the soldiers at Fort Siloso – perhaps anxious about what could come next.
Then we got ready our lamps to enter Tunnel A complex which had specially been darkened for the “brownout” experience. Assistant guides also held up torches for some light in the tunnels to ensure our safety.
My teen definitely felt the thrill of this as he checked out various bits of the complex including the sealed air wells, the room where the generators would have been placed and imagined being an Allied soldier in the middle of war working under the cloak of limited lighting.
We then came to the Fire Director Tower, and learnt about how guns and lights were controlled to target torpedo boats. This was also where we caught a glimpse of the horizon, which served as a beautiful photo opportunity for tour participants on the exclusive Fort Siloso Twilight Tour.
After walking through parts of Fort Siloso and also the tunnels from the top with the airwells partially hidden by vegetation, we headed back through the Siloso Skywalk. The howitzer near the skywalk had a garland of flowers dressing it, clearly a tribute to the resilience and perseverance of those who endured the darkest days in Singapore’s history.
The wonderful evening stroll on the Skywalk flanked by the port, shores, ships, glistening Keppel and Harbourfront skyline reminded us about the blessings of peace, and that it should never be taken for granted.
Register for Fort Siloso Twilight Tour
Register for the tour which happens on the evenings of 15, 16, 22, 23 February and 1 & 2 March from 6 pm to 7.30 pm. The ticket is priced at $25 per person.
For more details, visit Battle For Singapore 2025’s page.
