The town of Aritao was previously called Ajanas or Afanas. It was formerly the site of an Igorot fortress that was overrun by the Spanish in 1745 which was then further fortified by the colonists. Prior to that, the Spaniards had already established their first permanent settlement in Nueva Vizcaya in 1714 in the town of Buhay, now Barangay Santa Clara. Afanas was later renamedto Aritao, after an Isinay word "Ari-Tau". In January 1767, the intrepid Spanish Missionary Manuel Corripio succeeded in persuading an Igorot King called Ari Mengal and his tribe to live in the town. These people were later converted into Christianity by Fr. Tomas Gutierrez. In 1776, there was a merger of Aritao with the settlements of Buhay, Mabatu and Pahipahi into one pueblo under the name of Aritao, which was approved by the colonial authorities, with the town center being confirmed to be in the old Aritao. During the American Era on 30 June 1917, through the initiative of Councilor Jose Aleman, the application for township of Aritao to higher authorities was finally approved by the Secretary of the Interior. During
World War II, Japanese troops entered Aritao in 1942 and were pushed out by Allied forces in 1945 after heavy fighting in the village of Kirang, which lays on the foot of the Cordillera mountain trails leading to Baguio. == Geography ==