Little India is a Singapore district where a short heritage walk connects the Indian Heritage Centre, House of Tan Teng Niah and Tekka Centre. This Singapore walking tour follows the National Heritage Board’s “Serangoon in the 1900s” trail, which takes an estimated 40 minutes.
- Route: Indian Heritage Centre, Serangoon Road, Kerbau Road, Tekka Centre and Little India MRT station.
- From Kam Leng Hotel, a three-star hotel, the Indian Heritage Centre is about a 17-minute walk; House of Tan Teng Niah is about a 19-minute walk.
- Tekka Centre has hawker food and fresh meat stalls.
Walking into Little India
The National Heritage Board’s short “Serangoon in the 1900s” trail begins at the Indian Heritage Centre and takes an estimated 40 minutes. It continues down Serangoon Road, crosses to Kerbau Road, then heads to Tekka Centre and Little India MRT station.
Along the route, the former House of Tan Teng Niah and the Indian Heritage Centre are among the places marked on the Board’s Little India trail map. For onward travel by train, Little India MRT station is part of the route; the Singapore MRT guide to stations near Kam Leng Hotel covers the wider station context.
Visit House of Tan Teng Niah
The former House of Tan Teng Niah stands at 37 Kerbau Road in Gholia’s Village, Little India. Built in 1900, it is described by Singapore’s National Heritage Board as the last surviving Chinese villa in the district.
Tan Teng Niah owned sweet-making factories along Serangoon Road, where sugarcane was used to make sweets. A rubber smokehouse behind the house used sugarcane by-products as fuel. The house was restored and conserved in the 1980s for commercial use, and the project received a Singapore Institute of Architects Honourable Mention in 1991.
Browse Tekka Centre
Tekka Centre sits on the trail after Kerbau Road and is the successor to Tekka Market, which stood across the road. The National Heritage Board booklet points to its hawker food and fresh meat, giving you a chance to pause for a meal or browse the market stalls before continuing to Little India MRT station.
Plan an Indian Heritage Centre visit
The Indian Heritage Centre is the starting point for the “Serangoon in the 1900s” trail. If you plan to add a religious institution along the National Heritage Board’s separate Walk of Faiths route, follow its instructions on appropriate behaviour and clothing; the guide to Kampong Glam and Sultan Mosque covers another place of worship in Singapore.
Before you go: check the official site before you go for current visiting details.
FAQs
What does “Siew Song” mean?
The gilded nameplate at the house’s entrance reads “Siew Song,” meaning “elegant pine” or “refined pine” in Mandarin.
What is distinctive about the house’s design?
It has eight rooms, and the second storey projects over the first to form a five-foot-wide covered walkway.
Can the Little India walk be combined with another neighbourhood route?
For a separate nearby outing, the Jalan Besar walking route covers another neighbourhood walk from Kam Leng Hotel.