Qibla · Adamaoua Region
Qibla direction in Ngaoundéré
To face the Kaaba in Ngaoundéré, turn to 58.1° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (31.9° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,223 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Ngaoundéré should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 58.1°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 58°; 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 Ngaoundéré
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 31.9° towards north: the result is the bearing of 58.1°. Because the angle sits far from the cardinal points, a rough guess such as “east” would be off by more than 30°, which is why a measured bearing matters in Ngaoundéré.
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. The simplest check in Ngaoundéré is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Ngaoundéré. 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 Ngaoundéré to Mecca points to 60.9° (north-east), 2.8° away from the correct 58.1°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 2 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 7.3277° N, 13.5847° E 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 Ngaoundéré to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,223 km from Ngaoundéré as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,361 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 18 min, although most pilgrims from Ngaoundéré connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Ngaoundéré run 2 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Ngaoundéré rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ngaoundéré
On 148 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ngaoundéré while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 April 2027 it happens at 11:50 local time.
On 217 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 15:42.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 15:42 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 15:30 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 15:00 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 14:28 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 13:52 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 13:14 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 12:27 |
| 15 April 2027 | 11:50 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:10 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:39 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:13 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:03 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:09 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:26 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:56 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:24 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:00 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 12:28 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 13:02 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 13:32 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 14:11 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 14:43 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 15:16 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 15:36 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Ngaoundéré: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Ngaoundéré compared with other cities
Compared with Yaoundé, 448 km away, the Qibla in Ngaoundéré is turned 3.1° further clockwise (58.1° against 55.0°), and Mecca is 403 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bertoua (306 km), prays towards 54.1°, a difference of 4.1°.
Across the 14 cities in Cameroon on this site, the Qibla ranges from 54.1° in Bertoua to 63.0° in Maroua, a spread of 8.9°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Cameroon.
Qibla in cities near Ngaoundéré
Qibla in Ngaoundéré: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Ngaoundéré?
It is 58.1° from true north, which is north-east: 31.9° north of east.
How far is Ngaoundéré from Mecca?
3,223 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,361 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Ngaoundéré?
On 148 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 Cameroon?
No. It ranges from 54.1° to 63.0° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 58.1° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.