The site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on 12 October 1998 in the "natural" category.

The only Spanish firs native to Morocco can be found in the heart of the park, under the highest level of protection.

Other species that live in the park include the endangered Atlas cedar and Andalusian Belladonna.

[7] The park has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of Barbary partridges, red-necked nightjars, Levaillant's woodpeckers, subalpine and Sardinian warblers, spotless starlings, Moussier's redstarts, and black-eared and black wheatears.

Other animals present include Barbary macaques, Greek tortoises and many-scaled cylindrical skinks.