The highest point is Bukit Puaka (Haunted Hill in Malay) at a height of 75 m.[4] Legend has it that Pulau Ubin was formed when three animals from Singapore (a frog, a pig and an elephant) challenged each other to a race to reach the shores of Johor.

These features are captured in John Turnbull Thomson's 1850 painting — Grooved stones on Pulo Ubin near Singapore.

Tongkangs ferried the huge rock blocks (30 by 20 feet) from the island to Pedra Branca, the site of the lighthouse, in 1850 and 1851.

During the 1950s and 1970s, there were 2,000 people living on the island[8] and the Bin Kiang School was established in 1952 for the increasing number of children, from money donated by the Chinese residents.

In exchange, the local inhabitants were offered HDB government housing packages, although they could choose to live on the island.

[8] Pulau Ubin is one of the last areas in Singapore that has been preserved from urban development, concrete buildings and tarmac roads.

[14] Pulau Ubin's wooden house villages and wooden jetties, relaxed inhabitants, rich and preserved wildlife, abandoned quarries and plantations, and untouched nature make it the last witness of the old kampung Singapore that existed before modern industrial times and large-scale urban development.

[16] In the URA 2011 concept plan, Pulau Ubin is poised to be developed when Singapore's population exceeds a threshold of 6.9 million.

[19] Pulau Ubin Recreation Area, which included Chek Jawa, was created to cater to local tourism.

A boardwalk runs through the mangrove, allowing visitors to observe the plant and marine life at close range.

[20] The trail is approximately 8 kilometres long, varies in elevation and features a wide range of terrain from open meadows to thick jungle and is well-marked with signs indicating the difficulty level of each section.

While a large proportion of visitors to the island bring their own bicycles, rental cycle vendors are prevalent in Ubin town.

Transportation around the island can be either be done via bicycles of which the rental price range anywhere from S$8.00 to S$27.00 (for the entire day) depending on the condition of the bike, number of gears etc.

[21] For longer distance travel around the island, individuals can call taxi service (which is arranged by small coach buses), to get to scenic spots there.

[22] The National Biodiversity Centre, in partnership with Wildlife Reserves Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and researchers Marc Cremades and Ng Soon Chye, implemented the Hornbill Conservation Project to aid in the breeding and recovery of the Oriental pied hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) which had previously become extinct in Singapore but has since started to re-establish itself in places like Pulau Ubin and Changi.

Since May 2009, the National Biodiversity Centre, together with volunteers from National Parks Board and nature groups such as Wild Singapore and TeamSeaGrass, initiated a project to monitor identified populations of seahorse (Hippocampus kuda) and pipefish (Syngnathoides biaculeatus) in several locations including Pulau Ubin for conservation management purposes.

The data gathered will help to estimate the population size, growth rate of individuals and track their movements in their natural habitats.