Little India Heritage Trail Mug

The Little India Heritage Trail is NHB’s 16th heritage trail. It features over 40 heritage sites with 18 heritage markers across four kilometres, detailing the history of the over 200-year-old precinct. Aside from the staple heritage trail offerings of heritage markers, a trail brochure, and maps in four languages (English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil), all of which illustrate the history and heritage of selected sites, the Little India Heritage Trail goes the extra mile with specially curated thematic routes to cater to time-crunched trail-goers. The three bite-sized thematic routes are:

– “Serangoon in the 1900s” (40 minutes) – This route takes trail-goers on a historical trail to learn about the early communities that settled in the area in the early 20th century.
– “Walk of Faiths” (1 hour) – This route features the many different places of worship on the Little India Heritage Trail, and provides insights into the different religions and communities that have co-existed in the precinct since the early days.
– “Shop Till You Drop” (30 minutes) – This route allows trail-goers to enjoy the myriad of retail offerings in Little India, while learning more about the traditional businesses in the district.

Another new offering for the Little India Heritage Trail, to be launched as a pilot project later this year, uses Bluetooth beacons installed on the heritage markers along the trail. Through visitors’ mobile devices, these beacons will enable them to explore the history and stories around each marker in greater detail. Trail-goers will be able to access lesser known information of the site they are at, and view photos of the site shared by other trail-goers. This new trail function is also intuitive: it helps users identify the other heritage markers close by, and features simple directions to help them get to their next destination. By recommending relevant markers in the vicinity, it not only enhances the trail experience for trail-goers, but paints a more complete picture of the multi-faceted history and heritage of Little India. Lesser known facts, presented in bite-sized nuggets of information, also help make the large volume of content more digestible and relatable, thus making the trail more appealing, especially for time-starved audiences.

The Little India Heritage Trail brochure and map (to be available in four languages) can be downloaded from NHB’s heritage portal, Roots.sg. This will allow trail-goers to embark on their own self-guided trail, and select the route(s) that most interest them. When the new Bluetooth mobile pilot for the Little India Heritage Trail markers kicks in later this year, trail-goers will have access to even more information and pictures. Printed copies of the trail brochure and maps are also available for pick-up at IHC.

When: 16 Jan - 31 Dec 2017,

By: National Heritage Board (NHB)