The Roman Catholic Church used the city as a base, where it began the task of converting the natives to Christianity.

The city sits on a bluff overlooking the Mayo River, at 2,820 feet (860 m) above sea level, in the humid, tropical region known as the Ceja de selva.

The remaining 5 percent of the population includes Chinese, Japanese, Quechua and other amerindians (amazonian groups), and people of black origins.

[4] One small group people, descendants of Armenians, Jews, and Germans have the higher education and economic rate in the city; many of their members emigrated from Moyobamba to other areas and are very active in politics, economy, trade and education in largest cities of Peru (like Lima, Trujillo, Arequipa, Ica and Chiclayo).

After the slow demise of its airport, this regional capital began to fall behind the faster-developing Tarapoto, a neighboring city further down-river.

Farmers and regional government workers often clash in a geopolitical battle over local control and access to outside markets.

It is made by stuffing a ball of sticky green rice with chicken and wrapping it in bijao (Heliconia bihai) leaves for cooking.

Then celebrants dance the "Pandilla" around wooden poles dug into the ground before chopping them down with an axe and collecting the treasures from the top.