Qibla direction in Sucre

How to face the Qibla in Sucre

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 16.5° towards north: the result is the bearing of 73.5°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 17° off.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Sucre, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Sucre to Mecca points to 68.5° (east), 5.0° away from the correct 73.5°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 17 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.

The value of 73.5° is the direction in which the shortest route from 19.0333° S, 65.2627° W sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Sucre to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 12,273 km from Sucre as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 12,326 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 14 h 56 min, although most pilgrims from Sucre connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Sucre run 7 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Sucre rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Sucre

On 187 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Sucre 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 1 February 2027 it happens at 12:08 local time.

On 85 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 13:35.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Sucre (05:18 and 05:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 17:29 and 28 November 2027 at 17:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Sucre points straight to Mecca.

Sucre compared with other cities

The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Potosí (80 km), prays towards 73.8°, a difference of 0.3°.

Across the 7 cities in Bolivia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 72.6° in Santa Cruz de la Sierra to 74.3° in Tarija, a spread of 1.6°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Bolivia.

Qibla in cities near Sucre

• Potosí73.8° · 80 km
• Cochabamba73.1° · 207 km
• Oruro73.5° · 226 km
• Santa Cruz de la Sierra72.6° · 260 km
• Tarija74.3° · 284 km
• La Paz, La Paz Department, Bolivia73.1° · 416 km