Qibla · Mato Grosso
Qibla direction in Cuiabá
To face the Kaaba in Cuiabá, turn to 70.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (19.4° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 11,230 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Cuiabá should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 70.6°, the Qibla of Cuiabá. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 71° 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 Cuiabá
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 19.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 70.6°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 19° 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 Cuiabá, 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 Cuiabá to Mecca points to 68.5° (east), 2.1° away from the correct 70.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 15 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 70.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Cuiabá (15.5961° S, 56.0967° 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 Cuiabá to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 11,230 km from Cuiabá as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 11,281 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 13 h 43 min, although most pilgrims from Cuiabá connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Cuiabá 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 Cuiabá rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Cuiabá
On 185 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Cuiabá 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 11:25 local time.
On 93 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 13:47.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 13:47 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 13:12 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 12:16 |
| 15 February 2027 | 11:25 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 10:34 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 09:42 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 08:39 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 07:47 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 06:49 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | — | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | — | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 07:08 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 08:01 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 08:44 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:33 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 10:17 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 11:15 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 12:07 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 13:06 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 13:47 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Cuiabá (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 Cuiabá points straight to Mecca.
Cuiabá compared with other cities
Compared with Brasília, 874 km away, the Qibla in Cuiabá is turned 1.8° further clockwise (70.6° against 68.8°), and Mecca is 813 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Rondonópolis (184 km), prays towards 70.4°, a difference of 0.2°.
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 Cuiabá
- Rondonópolis70.4° · 184 km
- Tangará da Serra70.7° · 184 km
- Sorriso70.0° · 342 km
- Sinop69.9° · 420 km
- Jatai69.9° · 531 km
- Vilhena70.7° · 540 km
Qibla in Cuiabá: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Cuiabá?
It is 70.6° from true north, which is east: 19.4° north of east.
How far is Cuiabá from Mecca?
11,230 km in a straight line over the globe, and 11,281 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Cuiabá?
On 185 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.
Is the Qibla the same everywhere in Brazil?
No. It ranges from 66.1° to 74.2° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 70.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.