The forest sits on the so-called plateau of Eastern Province with altitudes 900 to 1,200 meters. The landscape is broken by rocky hills especially in the south, where mostly well-forested moderate slopes lead to the higher summits. The vegetation of the hilliest areas are considered basically miombo woodlands dominated by Brachystegias and Julbernardias among others. The northern part of the forest contains some mopane woodland dominated by Colophospermum on gentler slopes. So-called munga woodland is scattered through the forest as well, dominated by the species Acacia, Combretum, Lannea, and others. Soils are mainly brown sandy loam with quartz stones and gravel in the topsoil (researched by D. Nkhata).
Rainfall is quoted from different sources to be between 600 and 1000 millimeters, falling mostly between December and March. Coldest months are June and July (15-18 degrees mean temp.); warmest months are September and October (mean temp. 21-26 degrees).
