Qibla · Paraná
Qibla direction in Guarapuava
To face the Kaaba in Guarapuava, turn to 71.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (19.0° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 11,132 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Guarapuava should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 71.0°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 71°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Guarapuava
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 19.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 71.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 19° off.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Guarapuava to Mecca points to 62.2° (north-east), 8.8° away from the correct 71.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 16 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 angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 25.3905° S, 51.4654° W to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Guarapuava to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 11,132 km from Guarapuava as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 11,245 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 13 h 36 min, although most pilgrims from Guarapuava connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Guarapuava 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 Guarapuava rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Guarapuava
On 264 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Guarapuava 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 12:01 local time.
On 67 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 18:08.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | 12:01 | 18:08 |
| 15 January 2027 | 11:48 | 18:34 |
| 1 February 2027 | 11:16 | — |
| 15 February 2027 | 10:42 | — |
| 1 March 2027 | 10:04 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 09:24 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 08:35 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 07:56 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 07:13 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | — | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | — | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 07:29 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 08:06 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 08:37 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 09:12 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 09:44 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | 10:25 | — |
| 15 November 2027 | 10:59 | — |
| 1 December 2027 | 11:34 | 18:05 |
| 15 December 2027 | 11:56 | 17:56 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Guarapuava (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 Guarapuava points straight to Mecca.
Guarapuava compared with other cities
Compared with Brasília, 1,130 km away, the Qibla in Guarapuava is turned 2.2° further clockwise (71.0° against 68.8°), and Mecca is 715 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ponta Grossa (135 km), prays towards 70.4°, a difference of 0.5°.
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 Guarapuava
- Ponta Grossa70.4° · 135 km
- Campo Mourão71.1° · 176 km
- Francisco Beltrão71.7° · 177 km
- Campo Largo70.2° · 195 km
- Apucarana70.7° · 205 km
- Cascavel71.6° · 206 km
Qibla in Guarapuava: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Guarapuava?
It is 71.0° from true north, which is east: 19.0° north of east.
How far is Guarapuava from Mecca?
11,132 km in a straight line over the globe, and 11,245 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Guarapuava?
On 264 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 Guarapuava not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 62.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Guarapuava at 71.0°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 71.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.