Mount Yao (altitude 1 313 m; 12°39′ S, 35°16′ E) is located to 128 km to the southwest in the national reserve.

[1] Mount Mecula is in the watershed of the Rovuma River, which runs to the north and forms the boundary between Mozambique and Tanzania.

The Lugenda River, a tributary of the Rovuma, runs to the south.

Miombo woodland is the predominant plant community below 1000 meters elevation.

At higher elevations, patches of broadleaf evergreen Afromontane forest occur between 992 and 1370 meters elevation, along with grassland, montane scrub, and large areas of exposed rock.