Qibla direction in San Nicolás de los Arroyos

How to face the Qibla in San Nicolás de los Arroyos

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 13.3° towards north: the result is the bearing of 76.7°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 13° off.

Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from San Nicolás de los Arroyos to Mecca points to 60.2° (north-east), a full 16.6° away from the true Qibla of 76.7° (east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 53 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from San Nicolás de los Arroyos first heads east, and that is the direction to face.

How is the figure of 76.7° obtained? From the coordinates of San Nicolás de los Arroyos (33.3343° S, 60.2108° W) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.

Distance from San Nicolás de los Arroyos to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 12,192 km from San Nicolás de los Arroyos as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 12,336 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 14 h 51 min, although most pilgrims from San Nicolás de los Arroyos connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in San Nicolás de los Arroyos run 6 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of San Nicolás de los Arroyos rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in San Nicolás de los Arroyos

On 227 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of San Nicolás de los Arroyos while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 11:03 local time.

On 108 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 18:12.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in San Nicolás de los Arroyos (06:18 and 06:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 18:29 and 28 November 2027 at 18:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in San Nicolás de los Arroyos points straight to Mecca.

San Nicolás de los Arroyos compared with other cities

The Qibla here is practically the same as in Buenos Aires (76.3°), and Mecca is 131 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina (59 km), prays towards 76.8°, a difference of 0.1°.

Across the 34 cities in Argentina on this site, the Qibla ranges from 73.1° in Posadas to 86.4° in Comodoro Rivadavia, a spread of 13.3°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Argentina.

Qibla in cities near San Nicolás de los Arroyos

• Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina76.8° · 59 km
• Paraná76.3° · 181 km
• Jose C. Paz76.4° · 187 km
• Santa Fe76.4° · 193 km
• Merlo76.5° · 202 km
• Laferrere76.4° · 217 km