Aparri is one of twenty-eight (28) municipalities (along with one city) that comprise the province of Cagayan in the Cagayan Valley. The town is politically subdivided into forty-two (42) barangays, and is a part of the 1st Congressional District of Cagayan.

Aparri sits at the mouth of the majestic Rio Grande de Cagayan, the longest river in the Philippines. The river delta itself is Aparri’s most impressive natural attraction, where one can observe the mightiest of the country’s rivers as it vigorously confluences with the vast China Sea.

Each year, as thanksgiving to the town’s patron, St. Peter Thelmo, Aparrianos celebrate a local festival featuring a fluvial procession of about a hundred boats of different shapes and sizes, that starts at the juncture where the river meets the sea.

The town is blessed with a wide expanse of fine sand beaches with high surf and sand dunes sprawling along its coast.

Aparri includes the offshore island of Fuga, a 92 km² rarely visited raised coral terrace on the turbulent waters off the Babuyan Channel. Fuga, a part of the Babuyan Islands, has pink coral beaches, oyster colonies, shallow waters and a diverse marine life including rare fishes and giant turtles, and the ruins of an old Spanish Dominican mission church. Now privately owned, it has a cattle ranch and an airstrip. One of the best dive sites around, Fuga Island offers a good place for scuba diving and sports fishing.

The valley is one of the largest tobacco-producing areas in the country, and the town has a coastline suitable for trade. The town’s port ships out a substantial portion of the region’s farm and timber products.

Aparri is also noted for its bagoong (salted fish paste).

Moreover, Aparri is one of the few towns in the country that has a meteorological station.