This town is located between the Mbo plain and the mount Nlonako and at the foot of the Mount Manengouba. It is a town of transit between the Western High Plateau and the Highlands of North West. It is located some 200 kilometers from Douala, the economic capital of the republic. This town is a cosmopolitan area integrating several people of diverse ethnic origins. This is evident when looking at the fact that this area is a francophone section of the country yet, Pidgin English is widely spoken even by the autochthons of the area.
This town has very fertile soils which greatly account for the fact that it is a great centre for agriculture. Cocoa, banana, pineapples and rice plantations have a great presence on the landscape of this area. This area was an industrial town but all these are in the doldrums; coffee, rice and plywood industries that use to exist here have all closed. This partly explains why the 150 km of railway that use to link this town to Douala is no longer functional; it only exists as abandoned historical relics. They were constructed as early as the 20th century by the Germans, first colonial masters of Cameroon. Another track however exists today, linking Nkongsamba to Douala.
There are also tourist attractions in this town such as Mount Manengouba, the Male and Female lakes, the waterfalls of Ekom etc. Hotels, banks and money transfer agencies facilitate business activities and exchanges between this town and its neighbors like Melong, Manjo, Mbanga, Loum, Penja-Njomne etc.