The geological formation in the catchment is made up of "Central Crystallines" that are metamorphic rocks such as gneisses, granites and schists.

[2][3] Lakes, waterfall and high-rise mountain peaks abound in this forest belt, as do a number of old Hindu pilgrimage sites - Madhyamaheshwar, Tungnath, Rudranath, Kedarnath, Triyuginarayan and Kalpeshwar all are located within or on the periphery of the sanctuary.

This high value of precipitation is due to the fact that the hill ranges to the south, of about 3,000 m (9,800 ft) height, are open without much of rain-shadow effect.

The lowest winter temperature recorded in the first half of January is −10 °C (14 °F), when heavy snowfall is received in the upper region.

The diverse climate and topography in the sanctuary area has created dense forests of chir pine, oak, birch, rhododendrons and alpine meadows with incidence of numerous Himalayan flowering plants.

Aconitum balfourii, Angelica glauca, Arnebia benthamii, Artemisia maritima, Bergenia stracheyi, and Dactylorhiza hatagirea are among the threatened medicinal plant species of the sanctuary.

[1][2][8][9][12] Important bird species reported are Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus) (the state bird of Uttarakhand), Snow Partridge (Lerwa lerwa), kalij pheasant (lophura leucomelanos hamiltonii), koklass pheasant (Pucrasia macrolopha), West Himalayan bush warbler (Locustella kashmirensis), little pied flycatcher (Ficedula westermanni), grey-cheeked warbler (Seicercus poliogenys) and Rusty-flanked treecreeper (Certhia nipalensis).

It is found, not only in Uttarakhand in the Himalayan belt up to lowest elevation of 2,500 m (8,200 ft) (within a restricted zone), but also in some parts of the Himalayan belt starting from Northern India in Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim, and in Bhutan, Nepal and China (southwest Xizang) with small numbers reported in China.

[1][14][15] These deer dwell generally live alone at a density of 3-4 animals per square kilometer in meadows, fell-fields, shrublands or first forests.

[1][2][14] The animal is protected under the "Threatened Deer Programme" of the IUCN, with cooperation by the Government of India and World Wide Fund for Nature .

[1][2][3][15][16] Other scientific activities centered around the sanctuary have been: the high-altitude botanical field station established at Tungnath (3,500 m or 11,500 ft) by the Garhwal University; further ecological studies of the ungulates; WWF on ecology of the Himalayan musk deer and other ungulates near Tungnath, together with surveys of the mammalian fauna and avifauna; and fish fauna studies in the Mandakini River.

The permission of trekking, camping or conducting scientific study inside the sanctuary is provided by DFO Kedarnath.

[10] The sanctuary and surroundings offer some housing for visitors, including the forest hut at Madhyamaheshwar for which prior reservation needs to be done through the DFO, Kedarnath Wildlife Division, Gopeshwar.

The Temple Committee maintains Dharamshalas (rest houses or inns) for use by pilgrims and tourists at Trijuginarayan, Dougalbitta, Mandal, Gaurikund and Kedarnath.