Qibla · Centre Region
Qibla direction in Yaoundé
To face the Kaaba in Yaoundé, turn to 55.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-east (35.0° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 3,626 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Yaoundé should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 55.0°, the Qibla of Yaoundé. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 55° 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 Yaoundé
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 35.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 55.0°. 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 Yaoundé.
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 Yaoundé, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Yaoundé is a handy reference, because the 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 Yaoundé to Mecca points to 57.4° (north-east), 2.5° away from the correct 55.0°. 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.
How is the figure of 55.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Yaoundé (3.8667° N, 11.5167° E) 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 Yaoundé to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 3,626 km from Yaoundé as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 3,780 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 4 h 46 min, although most pilgrims from Yaoundé connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Yaoundé 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 Yaoundé rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Yaoundé
On 166 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Yaoundé 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 1 April 2027 it happens at 12:14 local time.
On 199 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 15:07.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 15:07 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 14:58 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 14:33 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 14:04 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 13:32 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 12:57 |
| 1 April 2027 | 12:14 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 11:40 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 11:03 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 10:36 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:14 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:06 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:11 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:26 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 10:52 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 11:17 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 11:48 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 12:14 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 12:44 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 13:11 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 13:45 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 14:14 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 14:43 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 15:01 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Yaoundé: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Yaoundé compared with other cities
The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ebolowa (115 km), prays towards 54.1°, a difference of 0.9°.
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 Yaoundé
Qibla in Yaoundé: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Yaoundé?
It is 55.0° from true north, which is north-east: 35.0° north of east.
How far is Yaoundé from Mecca?
3,626 km in a straight line over the globe, and 3,780 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Yaoundé?
On 166 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 55.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.