It sits at the mouth of the Cagayan River, the longest river in the Philippines, about 55 miles north of Tuguegarao, the provincial capital.
Aparri has an approximate income of ₱90 million. The valley has been one of the largest tobacco-producing sections in the Philippines, and the town has a considerable coastwise trade.
It has a meteorological station located in Barangay Punta where the Cagayan River meets the Babuyan Channel.
It also administers Fuga Island, which is part of the Babuyan Group and is much closer to Claveria.
Aparri was formerly a Japanese trading post because of its location at the northern tip of Luzon at the mouth of the Cagayan River. It was the main area for trade for Japan in the island of Luzon. Much of the area was once home to the native Ibanag people, who were at the time in alliance with Japan as an early form of an informal protectorate city-state. It was formally established under Spanish rule in 1605 after the Spanish Crown seized the Philippines and made it part of the Spanish East Indies. Since it was on the route of Spanish Galleons during the great tobacco monopoly in the 16th to the 17th centuries, Aparri was therefore made one of the major Spanish ports of the Galleon Trade on May 11, 1680. The original inhabitants of this town were the Ybanags. Later, as the Spaniards settled and because of its strategic location, Ilocanos and Chinese people settled in the area.
In the years before the outbreak of World War II, it became a transshipment point for smuggled goods from China, Taiwan, and other neighboring Southeast Asian nations. Donald Blackburn's guerrilla forces and the local troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Constabulary are supported the Sixth United States Army Force B, in the capture of Aparri on 20 June 1945.
In 2006, work was started to rebuild the port, after the old pier deteriorated due to the rising level of water, the common storms, and poor construction (ruins of it are now seen washed up on the beach).
Aparri is politically subdivided into 42 barangays.
Aparri has a tropical monsoon climate with warm temperatures year round though temperatures dip slightly during the winter months.
In the 2015 census, the population of Aparri, was 65,649 people, with a density of 230 inhabitants per square kilometre or 600 inhabitants per square mile.
Aparri is known for its foods such as the "bulung-unas", or Ribbon Fish (aka Belt Fish), which are in abundance during January and early February. "Kilawin naguilas-asan" is a fillet of smaller "bulung-unas" which are leftover baits, soaked in Ilocos vinegar, seasoned with salt and pepper, finely cut onions and ginger. Ludong, a variety of Pacific salmon, is the Philippines' most expensive fish, ranging from 4,000 pesos to 5,000 per kilo. Because of its price and its distinct taste and smell, it is also nicknamed "President Fish". Caught only in the Aparri delta when, after a heavy rainfall, these fish are washed down by the fast raging water from the south, down to the mouth of the Cagayan River where it meets the Babuyan Sea. Freshwater fish by nature, the salt water contributes to their super delicious taste. Ludong is available only in the rainy months of October and early November.
Aparri's attractions also include its sandy beaches and town fiesta. May 1 to 12 of every year, the town's fiesta celebrates the patron saint San Pedro Gonzales of Thelmo with nightly festivities at the auditorium, crowning of Miss Aparri beauty pageant and the "Comparza."
It is home to the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary and the Shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila. Holy Week is celebrated in Aparri with the observance of Holy Thursday and Good Friday in the town churches. On the early hours of Easter Sunday, the "Domingo Sabet" celebrates the meeting of Jesus and the Holy Mother after the resurrection.
Elected officials 2013-2016:
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