Qibla direction in Popayán

How to face the Qibla in Popayán

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 24.7° towards north: the result is the bearing of 65.3°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 25° 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 Popayán, 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 Popayán to Mecca points to 80.5° (east), a full 15.1° away from the true Qibla of 65.3° (north-east). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 161 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Popayán first heads north-east, and that is the direction to face.

How is the figure of 65.3° obtained? From the coordinates of Popayán (2.4382° N, 76.6132° 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 Popayán to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 12,619 km from Popayán as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 12,520 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 15 h 21 min, although most pilgrims from Popayán connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Popayán run 8 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Popayán rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Popayán

On 173 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Popayán 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 11:51 local time.

On 191 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 16:58.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Popayán (04:18 and 04:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 16:29 and 28 November 2027 at 16:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Popayán points straight to Mecca.

Popayán compared with other cities

The Qibla here is practically the same as in Bogotá (65.1°), and Mecca is 356 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Pitalito (90 km), prays towards 65.7°, a difference of 0.4°.

Across the 45 cities in Colombia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 62.9° in Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia to 65.9° in Florencia, a spread of 3.0°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Colombia.

Qibla in cities near Popayán

• Pitalito65.7° · 90 km
• Cali65.0° · 111 km
• Palmira65.0° · 127 km
• Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia64.8° · 134 km
• Florencia65.9° · 145 km
• Pasto65.7° · 155 km