Haw Par Villa Review: Singapore’s Ten Courts of Hell

Haw Par Villa in Singapore gave me plenty to photograph and several good reasons to reconsider my behavior. This Haw Par Villa review began with a simple reaction: who decided that a pleasant garden walk needed such detailed illustrations of the afterlife? Among the Chinese myths, moral tales, and painted animals, the Ten Courts of Hell were the scenes I carried away most clearly. Some of them are difficult to forget, even when you would quite like to.

My first instinct was to warn anyone arriving with small children. There are figures being cut apart, punished with sharp objects, or subjected to other thoroughly unpleasant treatments. The photographs below show some of those scenes. For adults interested in folklore, unusual art, and a different side of Singapore, there is much more here than a collection of things to be shocked by.

Haw Par Villa History: The Tiger Balm Garden

Haw Par Villa began in 1937, when Tiger Balm businessman Aw Boon Haw built a villa for his brother, Aw Boon Par, on a hill in Pasir Panjang. Its garden was open to the public and became known as Tiger Balm Gardens. The family’s medicinal ointment business helped pay for a place where sculpture could entertain visitors and teach lessons about how to live.

The garden developed into an elaborate collection of scenes from Chinese literature, folklore, and beliefs. After Boon Par died in 1944, Boon Haw continued to develop the displays, including the famous Ten Courts of Hell in the postwar years. The familiar name can make the place sound like a modern amusement park. Its central attraction has always been the stories told by its figures, and those stories do not all have comfortable endings.

Our Haw Par Villa Review: The Ten Courts of Hell

The Ten Courts of Hell depict judgment and punishment in the afterlife, drawing on Chinese religious and folk traditions. Their most unsettling feature is the direct connection between an offense and its illustrated consequence. You read the sign, look at the figures, and understand that subtlety was never going to do the teaching here.

On our walk, the weathered surfaces added to the atmosphere. A few of the sculptures looked in need of attention, although I was not entirely sure that fresh paint would make the punishment scenes any more reassuring. These were physical figures in front of us, with expressions, tools, and carefully arranged details. My imagination did not have much work left to do.

I have had my share of moments that I am not proud of, and the displays gave those memories some unwelcome company. A spike tree or a boiling river is quite an incentive to pause before the next burst of anger. The humor was my way of dealing with the sight of it all. Underneath it was the same question that makes the subject so persistent: what happens after we die, and how much should that possibility shape the way we behave now?

The opening of Hell’s Museum in October 2021 added a wider exhibition about death and the afterlife across cultures and belief systems. The Ten Courts now form part of that ticketed experience. We visited before this addition, so these photographs document the older displays; they are not a review of the newer museum galleries.

Beyond Hell: The Garden’s Other Stories

Haw Par Villa also contains pavilions, animal scenes, decorative reliefs, and moral stories that have nothing to do with a boiling cauldron. The pond and its small pavilion offered a calmer subject for the camera. Then another figure would appear, and the questions would start again.

One scene showed a woman nursing an older woman. Elsewhere, a bird-headed figure and animals caught up in their own conflicts made our walk stranger still. A photograph records what the sculpture looks like; it does not necessarily explain what the story means. The cultural purpose of these displays includes teaching values such as care for parents, loyalty, and charity. Stopping at the oddness alone misses part of what the garden was built to communicate.

As a photographer, I found that range more interesting than a park devoted entirely to horror would have been. The serious, the decorative, and the completely unexpected sit close together. I could photograph a pavilion in black and white, then turn my attention to a crowded animal scene. A sensible Sunday walk had become a rather complicated set of pictures.

Is Haw Par Villa Suitable for Children?

The strongest caution applies to the Ten Courts of Hell. The museum advises against visits by children under nine because of the explicit scenes. Age alone will not tell you how an individual child will react; older children who are sensitive to graphic imagery may also find this difficult.

My original warning about leaving the kids at home came from the punishment displays, not from every corner of the garden. Adults can find them upsetting too. Look at the photographs and read the museum’s guidance before deciding whether this belongs in your family’s Singapore plans. There is no obligation to turn a holiday into an endurance test.

Haw Par Villa Tickets, Opening Hours, and Current Access

Check the official closure notices before setting off. Maintenance has restricted access to the wider park since December 8, 2025. Hell’s Museum continues to operate, with additional event-related closures during October and November 2026. The old description of an entirely free, freely accessible park no longer tells visitors enough.

The nearest train stop is Haw Par Villa MRT station, CC25 on the Circle Line. It is close to the park entrance; use the operator’s current directions for the museum route while work continues. Plan your meal separately rather than assuming the garden’s cafés are operating as usual. The current dining page marks Café 1937 and The Sixth Milestone as closed.

Would I Recommend Visiting Haw Par Villa?

For adults curious about Chinese folklore and unusual sculpture, Haw Par Villa deserves attention. I remember the severity of the Ten Courts, the weathered figures, and the unexpected changes of subject around the garden. It gave us something very different from the polished Singapore attractions we already knew. Read the stories alongside the images, and there is more to take away than a few uncomfortable photographs.

The present access restrictions matter, particularly if the outdoor sculpture garden is your main reason for going. Confirm what is open before committing to the trip. For more ideas around the city, our guide to things to do in Singapore puts this unusual stop in a wider itinerary.

Haw Par Villa FAQ

Sources and Further Reading