Imilchil sits inside the Haut Atlas Oriental National Park, a 49,000-hectare protected area covering some of the highest country in the central Atlas. The park takes in the two lakes, the granite ridge of the Jbel Masker (3,265 m), and a complex of cedar forests, juniper scrub, and high pasture.
The park is good country for several days of walking. The most popular route is a multi-day trek from Imilchil south through the Assif Melloul gorges and on to the Todra valley — a serious mountain walk best done with a local muleteer-guide arranged in Imilchil. Bird-watchers come for golden eagle, bearded vulture, and the chough; in summer, families of Barbary macaques are sometimes seen in the cedar groves to the north.