This pre-reformation cathedral is located on the north bank of the River Tay, just behind the centre of Dunkeld. Built between 1260 and 1501, on a site which supported a wattle monastery from the 6th century, which was rebuilt in stone by Kenneth MacAlpin, King of the Scots, in 848 AD.

The current building, which is a mixture of Gothic and Norman styles, is dedicated to St. Columba, who is said to have preached on the site for six months, and whose relics are thought to be buried under the chancel steps, having been transported from Iona by Kenneth MacAlpin to avoid their loss to marauding vikings.

The cathedral has had a turbulent history, being partially destroyed in 1560 following the post-reformation removal of Roman Catholic 'idoltry'. Again in 1689, following the Jacobite victory at Killiecrankie, the cathedral and much of Dunkeld was devastated by fire.
Restorations have been undertakn over the years, most noteably of the Choir in 1908 and 1975. The cathedral remains an active church, within the community of the Church of Scotland.

Visitors can see the Black Watch Regimental Memorial and in the Chapter House Museum, the SHE bible (1611), stone remnants of the original monastery and the tombstone of the fiddler Niel Gow (1727 - 1807).