Nata is a small village at the crossroads for routes north and west. Nata is 190km from Francistown and 300km from both Kasane and Maun. The Nata Bird Sanctuary is situated on the eastern tip of the Makgadigadi pans. It covers approximately 230 km² of which 45% comprises pan surface.

The sanctuary was established in the early 1990s on the far northeastern edge of Sowa Pan. It is a local community project managed by a board of trustees selected from four nearby villages. This 230 km² community project is designed as a refuge for the wildlife on and around Sua Pan.
The idea was first raised in 1988 by the Nata Conservation Committee and the sanctuary was realised four years later, thanks to the Kalahari Conservation Society and funding from national and international organisations. Local people voluntarily relocated 3,500 cattle onto adjacent rangeland and established a network of dust roads.

During the rains a section of the pan fills up with a sheet of shallow water. During good floods it becomes an important breeding and feeding site for flamingos and pelicans. There is a great variety of birds in the sanctuary. It is one of the best places in Botswana to view flamigos.