The ecoregion forms a belt of coniferous forest covering 27,500 square kilometres (10,600 sq mi) from 3,000 to 4,000 metres (9,800 to 13,100 ft) elevation extending from the Gandaki River in Nepal east through Bhutan and into Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet.

cuspidata, Taxus sumatrana, Betula utilis, Alnus nepalensis, Betula alnoides, Betula utilis, Picea brachytyla, Juglans regia, Larix gmelinii, Larix sibirica, Larix × czekanowskii, Betula dahurica, Betula pendula, Pinus koraiensis, Pinus sibirica, Pinus sylvestris, Picea obovata, Abies sibirica, Quercus acutissima, Quercus mongolica, Ginkgo biloba, Prunus serrulata, Prunus padus, Tilia amurensis, Salix babylonica, Acer palmatum, Populus tremula, Ulmus davidiana, Ulmus pumila, Pinus pumila, Haloxylon ammodendron, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Tamarix ramosissima, Prunus sibirica, Cathaya argyrophylla, Taiwania cryptomerioides, Cyathea spinulosa, Sassafras tzumu, Davidia involucrata, Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Glyptostrobus pensilis, Castanea mollissima, Quercus myrsinifolia, Quercus acuta, Machilus thunbergii, Tetracentron, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Emmenopterys henryi, Eucommia ulmoides, Acer spp., and Sorbus spp.

Those in the Tsarijathang Valley in Bhutan's Jigme Dorji National Park are an important summer habitat for takin (Budorcas taxicolor).

[2] This ecoregion is home to some eighty-nine species of mammals originally from both Indomalayan and Palearctic realms, including civets, martens, Himalayan tahr and muntjac.

Threatened or endangered birds of the ecoregion include Tibetan eared pheasant (Crossoptilon harmani) and Sclater's monal (Lophophorus sclateri).

Damage is caused as trees are cut to provide firewood for local inhabitants and for trekking parties or to clear land for grazing.