Things to Do in Bingol: Floating Islands, Waterfalls and Highland Roads

What Bingol is actually like

The name comes from water. Ice-age glaciers left hundreds of small lakes on the plateaus of Mount Bingol, the extinct volcano northeast of the province, which is how it came to be called "a thousand lakes". Its older name was Capakcur. There is little flat ground and a lot of altitude: the capital sits at 1,151 metres, Karliova at 1,816.

The city does not tell you that. Earthquakes in 1971 and 2003 took most of the old fabric, so the Bingol you see now is concrete and recent. Almost everything worth travelling for lies outside it: a lake floating on peat in Solhan, Ottoman and Armenian remains along the Peri stream in Kigi, a ruined castle in Genc, and the fault junction at Karliova.

There are 12 numbered stops below, matching the pins on the map. Read distances as time: Kigi is 75 km away and takes two hours.

Quick answer

Work the province in three directions: Solhan and the floating islands east, the Adakli and Karliova highlands north, Kigi and Yayladere west.

• The Floating Islands natural monument is roughly 10 km from Solhan and 40 km from the city.
• Ilicalar and the Cir waterfall, the closest nature stops, fit into half a day.
• Most highland roads are closed by snow between November and April.

Things to do in Bingol

1. Floating Islands Natural Monument

In the Aksakal hamlet of Hazarsah village near Solhan, a small lake sits on flat ground ringed by hills. Patches of earth drift across its surface, shifting position over a day as the wind moves them. Underneath each patch is peat, plant matter rotted down in water, light enough to break free of the bottom and float with grass growing on top. The lake is under thirty metres across, yet reportedly over fifty deep.

Calibrate expectations. This is a small piece of odd geology, not a big view, and walking the shoreline takes five minutes. In return there is almost nothing like it in Turkey. On a still day the islets do not move.

• Getting there: A turn-off 4.5 km north of the Bingol to Solhan road, about 10 km from Solhan.
• Time: 30 to 45 minutes.
• Common mistake: Standing on the islands. Peat will not hold you, and protection rules forbid it.

2. Cir Waterfall

North of Ilicalar, at Uzundere village, a rock wall about a hundred metres high cuts across a stream bed. Locals call it the Great Cir Rock. Water runs through a gap in the middle and drops around fifty metres onto stones below. Two roads reach the falls, roughly eight kilometres from Ilicalar, and the village takes its name from the same stream.

The rock face is pitted with hollows and small caves where birds of prey nest. Flow depends entirely on season: the stream runs on snowmelt, so May and June are the full months and by late August the water thins badly. The path down is stony and permanently wet, which makes footwear a real decision.

• Getting there: From the city towards Ilicalar, then on to Uzundere village by car.
• Time: 1 to 1.5 hours including the walk.
• Common mistake: Going at the end of summer, when low water leaves nothing like the photographs.

3. Ilicalar and its hot springs

This town north of the city takes its name from its hot water, and it is the oldest documented use of anything in Bingol. The springs surface inside the valley, along the stream. There are simple bathhouses used by people from surrounding villages, plus a thermal facility run by Bingol University. For locals this is not a resort but where you go to get warm and wash in winter.

Ilicalar also works as a base: the Cir waterfall lies north, Suluk lake east, the capital southwest. It is half an hour from the city and noticeably greener. Even at midday in summer the stream bank stays cool, which is why local visitors come out at weekends.

• Getting there: Northeast of the city, on the northern branch of the Solhan road.
• Time: Half a day, easily combined with the waterfall.
• Prices and hours: Facility terms change, so ring ahead rather than turning up.

4. Hesarek Ski Centre

West of the city, at Hesarek within the boundaries of Dikme village, is Bingol's ski centre. It sits at around 2,500 metres, and the provincial governorship gives the road distance as 34 km. There are five runs of varying difficulty, one chairlift and one drag lift, the longest run 1,600 metres. The season opens in December and runs to the end of March.

Do not picture Erzurum or Erciyes. The facility is small, the beds are few, and so are the crowds, to the point where you can have a midweek run to yourself. Equipment hire exists but the range is narrow. In summer the lifts stop while the highland road stays open.

• Getting there: West of the city on a mountain road. Carry chains in winter.
• Time: A full day for skiing, half a day just to look.
• Common mistake: Arriving out of season. Check municipality or governorship announcements first.

5. Kral Kizi Castle

Two or three kilometres east of Genc town, on a hill where two streams meet, sits a ruined castle. The district takes its name from it, and it is also called Genc Castle. Streams wrap around it on all four sides and the only approach is from the east, which explains the choice of site in one glance. From the top you can read the pass it was built to control.

Accounts of who built it do not agree. One tradition credits a very early Persian ruler, another the Aq Qoyunlu leader Uzun Hasan, and both stay at the level of local storytelling. Around two thirds of the structure has gone to erosion, and restoration has been discussed for decades.

• Getting there: A short drive east of Genc town, last stretch on dirt.
• Time: 45 minutes to an hour.
• Common mistake: Expecting signposts and a path. You may need to ask in the village.

6. Genc and Kuba tombs

A few hundred metres west of the castle stand two tombs. Both are small versions of the Anatolian kumbet type: cut stone, an octagonal body, a conical cap. They are a five-minute walk apart, so treat them as one stop. The usual arrangement of a burial chamber below and a prayer space above is still partly readable, though the interiors have collapsed.

Very little medieval building survives in Bingol. Earthquakes and the emptying of villages took most of the province's stonework, which makes these two close to the only physical evidence left of its medieval fabric. There is no upkeep, the doorways are usually open or broken, and scratched graffiti has been spreading across the stone.

• Getting there: East of Genc town, on the same line as the castle.
• Time: 30 minutes.
• Common mistake: Looking for them in town. Both sit outside the settlement, among fields and a graveyard.

7. Zag rock shelters

West of Solhan, on a slope above the Murat river valley, is a run of chambers cut into rock. Inside you find small interconnecting spaces, soot marks on the ceilings and niches carved into the walls. There is no firm dating; comparable rock-cut settlements in the region have been placed in the late antique and medieval periods.

The story here is shelter. The chambers were cut above a route controlling the valley, at a spot hard to pick out from below, so it is easy to drive past. Do not expect a rock city on the scale of Hasankeyf. Even so, the valley view justifies the climb, and the ground turns slippery after rain.

• Getting there: Turn north off the Bingol to Solhan road, then a short steep climb.
• Time: 45 minutes.
• Common mistake: Going in without a light. The chambers are dark and you will see nothing.

8. Kigi and the Balaban Bey Mosque

Kigi is the northwestern district, 75 km from the city, at 1,512 metres, with most of its land under forest. The town is built on a slope running down to the Peri stream, so the streets are steep and narrow. The main building is the Balaban Bey Mosque, a plain restored Ottoman-period mosque in stone, with the remains of the Fultan bathhouse a few steps away.

What makes Kigi interesting is not one building but the district's former mixed population. Ruined Armenian churches and monasteries survive at Toprakli, Canakci, Guneyagil and Acikguney. Most are down to wall level and reachable only on dirt tracks. Ask at the village headman's office, because maps are not reliable here.

• Getting there: Northwest of the city, on a winding road.
• Time: 2 hours for the town, a full day with the villages.
• Common mistake: Planning this route in winter, when the road closes often.

9. Seytan mountains

The ridge northeast of Kigi. Its high point approaches 2,900 metres, and since 2005 the area has been protected as a wildlife development area covering some 24,000 hectares. One correction is needed: the internet and some maps call it "Seytan Mountains National Park", and it is not a national park. That difference in status changes both the access rules and the infrastructure.

Vegetation runs from mountain steppe lower down to mountain meadow above. Wild goat and lynx are both recorded here, which is why a hunting ban applies. Most people view the ridge from the Kigi to Yedisu road, and since snow arrives early the crest is white from late October. Going inside requires permission and a local guide.

• Getting there: From the road running northeast out of Kigi, as a viewing stop.
• Time: An hour as a roadside break.
• Common mistake: Hunting for a visitor centre, signs and trails. There are none.

10. Adakli and the Karer highlands

Adakli is a small district town north of the city, surrounded by pasture at close to two thousand metres. Some of its villages sit in an upland area known historically as Karer, a name that no longer appears on official maps but is still used locally. Families who keep livestock move up in summer, filling the hamlets between June and September.

There is nothing built to see, and that is worth saying up front. You come for altitude and open ground: treeless slopes, stream beds, scattered stone hamlets, snow-holding peaks in the distance. Flocks crossing the road are routine. Sort out fuel and water in the city, because long stretches have no filling station and no signal.

• Getting there: North of the city, asphalt to the town, gravel beyond.
• Time: Half a day to a full day.
• Common mistake: Going after October, when the pastures empty and roads start closing.

11. Karliova

A district town about 70 km from the city, at 1,816 metres. Two things define it. The first is water: the headwaters of the Peri, the Goynuk and tributaries of the Murat all rise around here, making this a significant starting point for the Euphrates basin. The second is geology. The North Anatolian and East Anatolian faults join near Karliova, which is why the name recurs in Turkish earthquake literature.

The town leans against the western flank of Mount Bingol. Peaks over 2,600 metres such as Kanatli and Kantarkaya line up to the north. Winter is long and hard and snow can lie into May. Karliova is known for beekeeping, and honey is sold along the roadside from August.

• Getting there: Northeast of the city on the Erzurum road.
• Time: 2 to 3 hours, a full day with the surrounding highlands.
• Common mistake: Packing for summer. Night temperatures drop into single figures even in August.

12. Mount Sulbus

Northwest of Yayladere, the westernmost district, this mountain reads as a cone from a distance. It rises above 2,800 metres and the summit holds snow for most of the year. Up close the top is flatter than it appears, which accounts for the gap between long-lens photographs and what you walk onto. There is a shrine at the top.

Sulbus needs no technical climbing, but there is no marked route either. People follow shepherd tracks out of Yayladere town, and going with someone who knows the way is safer. Yayladere is the most isolated district, with almost no accommodation, food or fuel. Part of the massif sits west of the provincial line, so some sources list it with Tunceli.

• Getting there: West of the city via Yayladere. The drive is long and full of bends.
• Time: A full day.
• Common mistake: Attempting the summit in spring. Snow cover can last into June.

When to go

June to September is the open season. Highland roads are clear and the Karliova and Adakli side is properly drivable. July and August get hot in the city, but evenings stay cool higher up.

May and early June are best for water, with the Cir waterfall running full on snowmelt, though snow still lies on the upper pastures.

December to March is the ski window, which means Hesarek and nothing else. Routes west and north are risky, and closures can last days.

How many days

Two full days cover the main line. One day east for Ilicalar, the Cir waterfall, Solhan and the Floating Islands. One day north for Adakli, the highland road and Karliova.

Give a third day to Kigi and a fourth to Genc and Yayladere. With one day, do the city plus Ilicalar and the waterfall.

Where to stay

Almost all accommodation is in the capital, between the main square and the university road. Numbers are limited and business travellers fill the hotels midweek.

The alternatives are the thermal facility at Ilicalar and limited winter capacity at Hesarek. Treat other districts as day trips.

Getting around

Bingol has its own airport near the city, though flights are limited. Two roads do the work: the D300 runs west to Elazig and east to Solhan and Mus, the D950 north to Erzurum and south to Diyarbakir.

One rail misconception is worth clearing up. The Elazig to Tatvan line crosses the province with stations near Genc and Solhan, but does not serve the capital, so arriving by train means transferring by road.

A car is effectively required. Minibuses connect the district towns, but not the Floating Islands, the Cir waterfall or the highland roads.

What to eat

Bingol cooking is built on dough, dairy and grain, apart from the spice-forward southeastern line. Look for tutmac soup, the yoghurt soup ayran asi, mastuva, keledos and sirin, which layers thin dough with yoghurt and garlic. Bread is still baked in tandir ovens in most villages.

Honey is the best-known product, from the high pastures around Karliova and Solhan, sold at the roadside and in the bazaar, in both strained and comb form.

The bazaar streets hold most of the traditional restaurants. Choice in the districts is thin, so carry food out of the city.

Honest warnings

Bingol has no tourism infrastructure. Signage is sparse, there are no visitor centres, and most sites have no information boards. Asking villagers for directions is normal.

The Floating Islands are small. Images online make them look misleadingly large; the lake is under thirty metres wide.

Do not plan a winter trip. From November to April the north and west of the province effectively close.

Distances mislead. Kigi looks like 75 km and drives like two hours. Two stops a day, not three.

Confirm thermal facilities, the ski centre and protected-area access officially.

Frequently asked questions

**Do the Floating Islands really float?** Yes, though not the way you might imagine. The islets are rafts of peat that drift with the wind, over hours rather than seconds.

**Can you visit Bingol without a car?** The city, Ilicalar and the district towns are reachable by public transport. The Floating Islands, the Cir waterfall and the highlands need one.

**Are the Seytan mountains a national park?** No. They were declared a wildlife development area in 2005, with no visitor facilities.

**How long do you need in Bingol?** Two full days cover the main stops, four with Kigi and Yayladere.

**Is Bingol worth visiting in winter?** For skiing yes, for sightseeing no. Most mountain roads close from November.