This squat but ornate building was begun in the late 17th century and only recently finished. Like most of Cajamarca’s churches, the cathedral has no belfry. This is because the Spanish Crown levied a tax on finished churches and so the belfries were not built, leaving the church unfinished and thereby avoiding the tax.
The church's interior lacks the ornamentation of its exterior – until you near the rich baroque altarpiece covered in gold leaf.