Qibla · Espírito Santo
Qibla direction in Cariacica
To face the Kaaba in Cariacica, turn to 66.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (23.4° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 9,871 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Cariacica should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 66.6°, the Qibla of Cariacica. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 67° 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 Cariacica
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 23.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 66.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 23° 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 Cariacica, 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 Cariacica to Mecca points to 62.0° (north-east), 4.6° away from the correct 66.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 8 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 66.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Cariacica (20.2639° S, 40.4200° 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 Cariacica to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 9,871 km from Cariacica as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 9,980 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 12 h 07 min, although most pilgrims from Cariacica connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Cariacica 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 Cariacica rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Cariacica
On 248 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Cariacica 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 11:26 local time.
On 56 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 December (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 12:14.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 12:14 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 11:59 |
| 1 February 2027 | 11:26 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 10:50 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 10:11 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 09:30 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 08:40 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 07:59 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 07:16 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 06:42 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 07:00 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 07:31 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 08:10 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 08:42 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:19 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 09:52 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 10:34 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 11:10 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 11:47 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 12:09 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Cariacica (06:18 and 06:27 local time), so they cannot be used here.
Cariacica compared with other cities
Compared with Brasília, 937 km away, the Qibla in Cariacica is turned 2.2° further anticlockwise (66.6° against 68.8°), and Mecca is 546 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Vila Velha (15 km), prays towards 66.5°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.
Across the 257 cities in Brazil on this site, the Qibla ranges from 66.1° in Maceió to 74.2° in Uruguaiana, a spread of 8.1°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Brazil.
Qibla in cities near Cariacica
- Vila Velha66.5° · 15 km
- Serra66.6° · 19 km
- Guarapari66.6° · 46 km
- Colatina66.7° · 84 km
- Cachoeiro de Itapemirim66.8° · 97 km
- Linhares66.5° · 104 km
Qibla in Cariacica: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Cariacica?
It is 66.6° from true north, which is north-east: 23.4° north of east.
How far is Cariacica from Mecca?
9,871 km in a straight line over the globe, and 9,980 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Cariacica?
On 248 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 Cariacica not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 62.0°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Cariacica at 66.6°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 66.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.