Bingol, 144 kilometers (89 miles) east of Elazig, is located in a high region of the broad Eastern Anatolian plateau. Several mountains surround the area, reaching heights of about 3,000 meters (9,840 feet), and containing many glacier lakes giving the city its name of "a thousand lakes". Kalatepe peak (3,250 meters) on the Bingöl Mountains, near the town of Karliova is a great place to watch the magnificent sunrise, especially between the 15th of July and the 15th of August.
The history of the land begins with the Urartians, and continues under the hegemony of the Persians, the Seljuks and then the Ottomans.
The remains from these periods can be found at various sites, the most important being the medieval fortress inside the city center. The city is small but has good facilities for hunting, thermal bathing and winter sports. There is a very interesting small lake (300 square meters), in which there is a floating natural island, at Hazersah village near Solhan.
Kurucadag mountain at Yolcati district is a small skiing area approximately 25 kilometers (16 miles) to the city center. It's easily reachable by road with buses as well. The season is between February and March where skiers stay in mountain chalet's. On 1000 meters long skiing track there is a telesiege for skiers.
On 1st of May 2003 a terrible earthquake hit Bingöl city killing 176 people, mostly elementary school kids sleeping in their dormitory. It struck at 03:27am local time and lasted for 17 seconds, with a Richter scale of 6,4.