[3] Kalibo is located in the north-west of Panay island and also, it is the most populous town in Aklan.

The municipality is known for the Ati-Atihan festival; the semi-urban and multi-awarded mangrove forest Bakhawan Eco-Park and piña-weaving, which was inscribed to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2023.

[5] The term Kalibo comes from the Aklanon word sangkâ líbo, ("one thousand"), reputedly the number of native Ati who attended the first Catholic Mass celebrated there.

The town of Kalibo was originally called Akean by the inhabitants, similar to the name of the river nearby.

When Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in 1569, he discovered that the town already had around 2,000 inhabitants, so he recruited 500 of them to help conquer the rest of the Philippines.

On March 23, 1897, the Nineteen Martyrs of Aklan were executed by the Spanish colonial government for their role in the Philippine Revolution.

They returned to town 15 months later, following the October 1943 juez de cuchillo where the Japanese massacred 74 Batan residents.

[8] This time, they garrisoned the towns of Kalibo, Ibajay, New Washington, Altavas, Balete, and Batan.

[14] St Gabriel Medical Center, a major private hospital, opened its doors in 1969.

[19] In 1984, Typhoon Agnes (local name Undang), ravaged Kalibo and the whole province.

[20][21] As a response to Undang, the Bakhawan Eco-Park began to take shape in December 1989 when the Kalibo Save the Mangroves movement was organized.

Kalibo is situated on the alluvial plains of the Aklan River which lies to its west.

Kalibo's main industry is agriculture, based on rice, coconuts, piña and abaca.

[34] Kalibo also has food manufacturing facilities, supporting a meat-processing industry that produces chorizo, tocino and other similar products.

Kalibo serves as the commercial center for Aklan province, owing to its status as the provincial capital.

Tourism in Kalibo peaks during the Ati-Atihan Festival, celebrated every second week of January and culminating on the third Sunday.

The town also benefits from good road connections to Boracay, allowing it to become a jump-off point for tourists headed to the island.

The Ati-Atihan Festival is believed to have started in the year 1212 when Borneans, led by the ten datus, traveled on balangays and crossed the Sulu Sea to land in Panay, making it the oldest festival in the Philippines.

Within the town proper lies Freedom Shrine which commemorates World War II veterans and the Museo it Akean, a museum of Aklan's history.

Outside the town lies Bakhawan Eco-Park, a 220-hectare (540-acre) mangrove reforestation project that began in 1990 in barangay New Buswang.

These airlines increase their flights during the Kalibo Ati-Atihan Festival every January each year.

Zest Air has flights to Seoul, Busan, Shanghai, Taipei, Beijing, and Chengdu.

The Caticlan Jetty Port is part of the Roll-on Roll-off (RORO) Strong Republic Nautical Highway that connects Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, and it passes through Kalibo to Capiz or Romblon.

The tricycle dominates the streets in Kalibo and is the main form of public transport.