[2][3][1] There is a short dry season centered on January–February, but fog and dew are common throughout the year and support a lush forest character.

This northern sector around the Kontum Massif is a complex of granite mountains, and includes Ngọc Linh, the highest peak in Vietnam at 2,598 metres (8,524 ft).

Above 900 meters, the wet hardwood forest supports a wide variety of tree species, generally dependent on the geology and soil of the location.

Pinus krempfii grows in closed-canopy evergreen forests of Castanopsis chinensis, Trigonobalanus verticillata, Engelhardia roxburghiana, and Dendropanax hainanensis.

Pinus dalatensis typically grows above a continuous canopy of Schima wallichii, Exbucklandia populnea, and Pentaphylax euryoides and the conifers Dacrycarpus imbricatus and Dacrydium elatum.

Endemic and near-endemic species include Edwards's pheasant (Lophura edwardsi), Germain's peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron germaini), Vietnamese crested argus (Rheinardia ocellata), collared laughingthrush (Trochalopteron yersini), golden-winged laughingthrush (Trochalopteron ngoclinhensis), short-tailed scimitar babbler (Napothera danjoui), grey-faced tit-babbler (Mixornis kelleyi), black-crowned barwing (Actinodura sodangorum), grey-crowned crocias (Laniellus langbianis), and Vietnamese greenfinch (Chloris monguilloti).