Qibla direction in Ibarra

How to face the Qibla in Ibarra

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 24.1° towards north: the result is the bearing of 65.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 24° off.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Ibarra, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Ibarra to Mecca points to 79.6° (east), 13.7° away from the correct 65.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 146 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 value of 65.9° is the direction in which the shortest route from 0.3488° N, 78.1246° W sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Ibarra to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 12,868 km from Ibarra as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 12,777 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 15 h 38 min, although most pilgrims from Ibarra connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Ibarra 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 Ibarra rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ibarra

On 184 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ibarra 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 11:38 local time.

On 180 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 17:04.

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

Ibarra compared with other cities

The Qibla here is practically the same as in Quito (66.1°), and Mecca is 67 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Quito (78 km), prays towards 66.1°, a difference of 0.2°.

Across the 16 cities in Ecuador on this site, the Qibla ranges from 65.3° in Esmeraldas to 67.8° in Loja, a spread of 2.5°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Ecuador.

Qibla in cities near Ibarra

• Quito66.1° · 78 km
• Santo Domingo de los Colorados66.0° · 135 km
• Latacunga66.4° · 153 km
• Esmeraldas65.3° · 183 km
• Ambato66.5° · 186 km
• Quevedo66.3° · 214 km