The valley immediately around Imlil offers half-day and full-day walks without committing to the Toubkal ascent. The path up to Aroumd (4.5 km from Imlil), the largest Berber village in the valley, passes terraced fields of barley and walnut orchards above the Ait Mizane river. Further up, Sidi Chamarouch — a small settlement at around 2,300 metres with a marabout shrine and a waterfall — makes a good turnaround for day walkers. The landscape is dramatically different from the Moroccan lowlands: steep rocky slopes, ancient juniper and pine, and Amazigh (Berber) villages perched on ridges.
The walk to Aroumd takes about an hour and a half at an easy pace; the village itself sits on a dramatic moraine spur with views back down the valley. Many trekkers use it as a lunch stop before returning to Imlil or continuing up toward the refuge. An alternative loop crosses the Tamatert pass (2,279m), drops into the next valley, and returns to Imlil — a full day's walk that gives a good sense of the variety in the massif without any serious altitude gain.