[2] This reserve is situated in Analamanga region, 140 km (87 mi) north-west of the town of Antananarivo in the district of Ankazobe.

[4] The ethnic groups living in and around the reserve are the Betsileo, Betsimisaraka, and Merina peoples.

The black-bark tree, Fanola (Asteropeia amblyocarpa) is registered as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List, and Schizolaena tampoketsana with its twisted fissured trunk is believed to have only 160–370 mature individuals in existence.

Rare birds found in the reserve include the Malagasy harrier (Circus macrosceles) and Madagascar ibis (Lophotibis cristata).

[6] The reserve is the only known habitat of the critically endangered Darth Vader giant pill millipede (Zoosphaerium darthvaderi).