Yola is an access point to the Gashaka Gumpti Nature Reserve, which is one of the largest national parks in Nigeria, the Ngel Nyaki montane forest reserve, the Mambilla Plateau, the Sukur UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is Africa's first cultural landscape to receive World Heritage List inscription,[3] the Yadin Waterfalls, the Kiri Dam on the Gongola River, the Benue national park in nearby Cameroon, the Waza National Park, and the Cameroonian town of Garoua, which lies across the border, on the Benue river.

During the Islamic movement led by Shehu Usman Dan Fodio in the early 19th century, Modibbo Adama was recognised as a Muslim Scholar who could lead the people in the Upper Benue area.

He traveled by the Sahara route, coming through Kukawa near Lake Chad, which at the time was the capital of the Borno Empire.

The dry season, especially from February to April, has higher daytime temperatures and can have lower nighttime lows.

The duration of the dry spell is 4.6 months, with January recording the lowest average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

[9][8] The nearby town of Jimeta has a market, zoo, an airport[12] with direct flights to Saudi Arabia, NiPost and NiTel offices as well as the main mosque and cathedral.

The town is home to various institutions of learning, such as the: American University of Nigeria (AUN) (which is Africa's first and only development university), Adamawa State Polytechnic, The Modibbo Adama University Yola (MAU) previously known as Federal University of Technology, Yola, located about 10 km (6 mi) north of the city on the road to Mubi, The Federal Government Girls College, Yola, AUN Academy (ABTI Academy), Aliyu Mustapha Academy, Chiroma Ahmad Academy, Ahmadu Ribadu College, MAUTECH university secondary school, Concordia College (which was nominated as the best post-primary school for 2007 by the National Association of Nigerian Students).

Yola also houses one of the six campuses of the Nigerian Law school located beside the American University of Nigeria and many other educational institutions.