Qibla direction in Concepción

How to face the Qibla in Concepción

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 5.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 85.0°. The direction is close to due east, which makes it easy to remember.

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 Concepción, 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

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Concepción to Mecca points to 61.4° (north-east), a full 23.6° away from the true Qibla of 85.0° (east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 114 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Concepción first heads east, and that is the direction to face.

How is the figure of 85.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Concepción (36.8270° S, 73.0498° 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 Concepción to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 13,407 km from Concepción as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 13,559 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 16 h 16 min, although most pilgrims from Concepción connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Concepción run 6 hours behind Mecca in winter and 7 hours behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Concepción rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Concepción

On 187 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Concepción 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 10:45 local time.

On 146 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 18:13.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Concepción (05:18 and 05:27 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 Concepción points straight to Mecca.

Concepción compared with other cities

Compared with Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan, Chile, 434 km away, the Qibla in Concepción is turned 3.1° further clockwise (85.0° against 81.8°), and Mecca is 260 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Coronel (24 km), prays towards 85.1°, a difference of 0.2°.

Across the 24 cities in Chile on this site, the Qibla ranges from 74.3° in Arica to 92.9° in Punta Arenas, a spread of 18.6°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Chile.

Qibla in cities near Concepción

• Coronel85.1° · 24 km
• Chillan84.3° · 88 km
• Los Ángeles85.0° · 94 km
• Villa Mercedes84.7° · 115 km
• Talca83.4° · 200 km
• Temuco85.8° · 216 km