It then runs generally south southwest until it is joined by the Shari River which flows by Bunia.

The watershed of the Ituri/Aruwimi is almost entirely dense forest, with just a handful of villages along its course, and crossed by roads in about four places.

The Kango language (SIL code KZY) is spoken by several thousand villagers just south of Avakubi, and upper reaches of the Ituri are inhabited by the Mbuti (Pygmies).

The Aruwimi was explored by Henry Morton Stanley during his 1887 expedition to "rescue" Emin Pasha.

The cataracts above Yambuya made it impossible to use the river for navigation, and the expedition had to go by land, with tremendous difficulty.