Orchid Extravaganza 2026: Rhythm of the Rainforest at Gardens by the Bay

Indonesia’s rich heritage takes over Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Dome with woven giants and over 7,000 orchids. Find out more in this photo tour.

Orchid Extravaganza 2026: What’s New

Orchid Extravaganza: Rhythm of the Rainforest brings together more than 7,000 orchids with towering ancestral houses, sacred gateways and gigantic woven sculptures, handcrafted by a team of Balinese artisans. The display runs at Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Dome from 3 July till 10 August 2026.

My last coverage of this series, Orchid Extravaganza 2023, was a display that featured elements from many Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia with its Rumah Toraja. This year, Indonesia gets the whole dome to itself. For a look back at how far this series has come, here are my photo tours of the 2018 and 2017 editions.

The 2026 display was officially launched on 4 July 2026 by Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry Mr Alvin Tan, and is part of this year’s Singapore Garden Festival. Presented in collaboration with Indonesia’s Ministry of Creative Economy and the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Singapore, it is also one of the rare chances to see anyaman, the centuries-old Indonesian art of weaving plant materials, at this scale in Singapore.

The Entrance Gate

The journey begins right at the Flower Dome entrance, where a woven spiral archway wraps overhead. This Entrance Gate is a stunning sculptural piece with some 170 stems of coconut leaf, shaped using traditional Balinese weaving techniques. These new woven sculptures found inside the Flower Dome were handcrafted in Bali by leaf creation studio MAKE A SCENE!, working with natural materials such as coconut leaf, banana fibre and palm.

Expect this spot to be popular. Visitors were already lining up for group photos under the archway during launch day.

VIPs touring the display at the launch event also took some photos here.

Past the gate, a floral canopy engulfs you in orchids.

Award-Winning Orchids from the Singapore Orchid Show

If you visit early, there is a bonus. Award-winning orchids from the Singapore Orchid Show are also on display in Flower Dome as part of Singapore Garden Festival 2026, themed Carnival of Blooms this year. These displays are only around till 12 July 2026, so visit early if you want to catch them.

A Journey Through the Archipelago

As you make your way to the Flower Field, the path leads you into the rainforest. First up is the jukung, the traditional canoe of Indonesia’s coastal communities, complete with its distinctive lateral floats. Vessels like these belong to a seafaring tradition that once carried Austronesian sailors across the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Nearby lurks a woven Komodo dragon, the world’s largest living lizard and a species found only in eastern Indonesia. Get close and you can appreciate the mix of natural materials in its textured hide, right down to woven fruit skins.

A recreation of the uma mbatangu, the peaked house of Sumba, rises above the pathway. Traditionally, the taller the central peak, the more prominent the ancestral lineage beneath it. Displayed alongside are Sumba ikat textiles, handwoven by women artisans from East Sumba using a dyeing technique where patterns are tied into the threads before any weaving begins.

Wildlife on the Flower Field

Out on the Flower Field, the woven wildlife takes over. A peacock fans its tail beside the display’s signature Sumatran tiger, both rendered entirely in woven plant materials.

The Sumatran tiger, critically endangered in the wild, is easily the most striking of the woven sculptures, its stripes worked into the weave.

Chains of orchids cascade from the mountain beside the tiger and peacock. There are also similar cascades at the front side of the display.

Among the more than 7,000 orchids here are some of Indonesia’s most storied species: the moon orchid, one of the country’s three national flowers; the ground orchid, among the first plants to recolonise Krakatau after its 1883 eruption; and the tiger orchid, the world’s largest orchid species.

A pair of woven hornbills perches in a beautiful display, which can be found in one of the “pocket” gardens in the Flower Field (near the front).

Not all the sculptures are wildlife. The ondel-ondel, towering ceremonial puppets of Jakarta’s indigenous Betawi community, get their own woven interpretation here.

Also the water-powered bamboo gong makes a return to this display, enhancing the experience with soothing sounds. Stand close for your sound bath.

A woven Rafflesia blooms at ground level, one of the more unexpected subjects in the series.

Nagas and the Candi Bentar

The centerpiece of the Flower Field: a pair of mythical naga flanking the candi bentar, the split gateway of Bali. This is the view that anchors the whole display, best taken in from the front of the field.

Up close, the naga’s scales reveal the intricacy of the weaving.

In Bali, the candi bentar traditionally marks the transition into a sacred space. Walking through it here feels like crossing into the display’s inner sanctum.

The gateway from the other side.

Right beside it stand recreations of Meru towers, the tiered shrines central to Balinese temple architecture.

Shadow Puppets, Stage Costumes and a Robotic Gamelan

The cultural showcases continue with wayang kulit, the shadow puppet theatre of Java and Bali, recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. Each puppet is cut from a single panel of buffalo hide and chiselled with hundreds of perforations that let light articulate the figure.

Near the exit, elaborate stage costumes come from Pagelaran Sabang Merauke, a theatrical showcase dubbed the Indonesian Broadway. These costumes depict characters from Indonesian folklore, with details like songket, a traditional handwoven fabric interlaced with gold and silver thread.

Sharing this stretch is a robotic installation developed by Universitas Dian Nuswantoro in Central Java. Shaped like a futuristic, metallic sunflower, it plays an arrangement of traditional gamelan instruments on its own.

A gigantic woven lotus sculpture sends visitors off near the exit, and is also another popular photo spot, given that the bench is perfectly placed there – like a throne.

Plan Your Visit

Orchid Extravaganza: Rhythm of the Rainforest

3 July – 10 August 2026
Flower Dome

Also happening at Gardens by the Bay during this floral display: The second run of Disney Garden of Wonder, if you are planning to make a full day of it.

Get your tickets to Gardens by the Bay’s Flower Dome, Cloud Forest and other attractions via Pelago or Klook today!

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