The montane taiga supports a populations of elk, deer, wild boar, wolves, and brown bear.

The diversity of plants and animals has benefited from the relative isolation and low human population of the area.

It covers the northern ridges and valleys of the Tarvagatai Range of the Khangai Mountains, at elevations of 2,000–2,600 metres (6,600–8,500 ft).

Stream valleys drain the slopes northward into the Ider River, which runs below the northern edge of the ecoregion.

[5][6] The ecoregion is a thin band of taiga; the slopes above the valley floors are generally forested with Siberian larch (Larix sibirica) and Cedar.