Nauta is a town in the northeastern part of Loreto Province in the Peruvian Amazon, roughly 62 miles (100 km) south of Iquitos, the provincial capital.

Nauta is located on the north bank of the Marañón River, a major tributary of the Upper Amazon, a few miles from the confluence of the Río Ucayali.

Established by Manuel Pacaya–Samiria, a leader of the Kokama people, following the 1830 uprising at the Jesuit mission of Lagunas, Nauta soon became the primary commercial hub of the Peruvian selva baja (known also as Omagua, or the Amazonian lowlands).

While clearing the area where they would camp, they found an abandoned large jar that, due to its size, was called "MAUTA" in their native language, giving rise to the name of the place.

[3] The Subprefect responded to the request with a document dated December 17, 1829, addressed to the Governor of Misiones based on the official communication from the Prefect of the department, giving the following instructions: "Take all possible measures for the Cocama tribe to move to the Mouth of the Ucayali, at the point named Nauta, to establish a town there.

It is your duty to report to this Subprefecture within the term of the state in which the population and its inhabitants are found, by means of which the chief will be informed, within the same period granted to him, to resolve what is convenient.

"[4]On the same date, Don Damián Najar also sends a letter to Father Mariano, the priest of San Regis, informing him of the authorization given to Don Manuel Pacaya to establish the town of Nauta "to serve the republic as a separate government or district," with the obligation that within one year, he must have constructed the necessary buildings for the inhabitants, both for their social needs and divine worship, declaring them subject to the parish of San Regis.

Even though Nauta has an indigenous origin, from its beginnings, it adhered to the spirit of the foundations of Spanish-style towns, as this was in accordance with the full political, administrative, and religious control of the Maynas Missions that still persisted at the time despite the establishment of the republican era.

In 1832, the construction of the Main Church (now Ukamara Theater) began, making this infrastructure the first historical and religious monument in this part of the Amazon, thus promoting the significance that the newly founded town was acquiring.

Having started with a few indigenous families and being one of the early pioneering settlements in the Loreto region, Nauta quickly began its development not only in terms of population but also in all its economic and social activities.