Down the valley to the east lies the neighbouring municipality of Untertilliach, the mountain crest in the south marks the border with the Venetian Cadore region in Italy.

The municipal area comprises Obertilliach proper around the St Ulrich parish church and the small villages of Bergen, Leiten, and Rodarm.

Compared to the nearby Puster Valley west of the Kartitsch Saddle, a more Alpine climate prevails in the high up region with harsh winters but plenty of sunshine.

Originally an agricultural area, Obertilliach today largely depends on tourism and is a popular destination for biathletes and cross-country skiers as well as for hikers, mountaineers and paragliders in summer.

From about 1100, the Bavarian House of Gorizia (Görz) residing at Lienz, nominally vassals of the Brixen bishops, consolidated their rule over the Tilliach region, contested by both the Prince-bishops of Salzburg and the Sponheim dukes of Carinthia in the east.