It is one of the constituent territories of the region of Darién, together with the towns of Unguía, Juradó and the municipality of Riosucio west of the Atrato river.

The first the town of Acandí was founded in c. 1890 by Spanish settlers Concepción Gómez, Fermín Ávila, José Piestán, José Garrido and others with the name of San Nicolás de Titumate and was located at the western shore of the Acandí River but was constantly flooded and devastated by this river.

Its urban area is by the Caribbean Sea in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Urabá, some 558 km (347 mi) away from the capital Quibdó.

The main economic activities of Acandí inters of Added value are Mining (41%), agriculture, livestock, hunting, forestry and fishing (35%), manufacturing (15%) and commerce repairs and hospitality (5%).

Acandí has a small seaport on the Caribbean Sea mainly utilizing it to communicate with other nearby ports in Colombia and Panama.