Qibla · Queensland
Qibla direction in Cairns
To face the Kaaba in Cairns, turn to 287.1° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (17.1° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 12,292 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Cairns should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 287.1°, the Qibla of Cairns. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 287° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Cairns
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 17.1° towards north: the result is the bearing of 287.1°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 17° 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 Cairns, 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Cairns to Mecca points to 290.3° (west), 3.2° away from the correct 287.1°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 19 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
How is the figure of 287.1° obtained? From the coordinates of Cairns (16.9237° S, 145.7661° E) 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 Cairns to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 12,292 km from Cairns as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 12,373 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 14 h 58 min, although most pilgrims from Cairns connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Cairns run 7 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Cairns rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Cairns
On 179 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Cairns while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 15 February 2027 it happens at 13:21 local time.
On 83 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 08:10.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 08:10 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 07:25 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 06:23 |
| 15 February 2027 | 13:21 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 14:12 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 15:00 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 15:55 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 16:42 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 17:38 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | — | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | — | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 17:34 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 16:28 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 15:34 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 14:33 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 13:39 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 12:33 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 06:09 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 07:16 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 08:10 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Cairns (19:18 and 19:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 14 January 2027 at 07:29 and 29 November 2027 at 07:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Cairns points straight to Mecca.
Cairns compared with other cities
Compared with Canberra, 2,069 km away, the Qibla in Cairns is turned 9.3° further clockwise (287.1° against 277.8°), and Mecca is 777 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Townsville (283 km), prays towards 286.0°, a difference of 1.1°.
Across the 21 cities in Australia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 275.0° in Hobart to 295.5° in Mandurah, a spread of 20.5°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Australia.
Qibla in cities near Cairns
- Townsville286.0° · 283 km
- Sunshine Coast280.7° · 1,319 km
- Toowoomba280.6° · 1,343 km
- Brisbane280.3° · 1,390 km
- Logan City280.1° · 1,410 km
- Gold Coast279.8° · 1,461 km
Qibla in Cairns: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Cairns?
It is 287.1° from true north, which is west: 17.1° north of west.
How far is Cairns from Mecca?
12,292 km in a straight line over the globe, and 12,373 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Cairns?
On 179 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Cairns not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 290.3°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Cairns at 287.1°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 287.1° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.