Qibla direction in Pangkalanbuun

How to face the Qibla in Pangkalanbuun

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 23.2° towards north: the result is the bearing of 293.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 23° 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 Pangkalanbuun, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Pangkalanbuun 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 Pangkalanbuun to Mecca points to 288.9° (west), 4.2° away from the correct 293.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 19 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 293.2° is the direction in which the shortest route from 2.6832° S, 111.6259° E 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 Pangkalanbuun to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 8,244 km from Pangkalanbuun as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 8,323 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 10 h 12 min, although most pilgrims from Pangkalanbuun connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Pangkalanbuun run 4 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Pangkalanbuun rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Pangkalanbuun

On 172 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Pangkalanbuun 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 March 2027 it happens at 11:47 local time.

On 154 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 06:39.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Pangkalanbuun: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Pangkalanbuun compared with other cities

Compared with Jakarta, 660 km away, the Qibla in Pangkalanbuun is turned 2.0° further anticlockwise (293.2° against 295.2°), and Mecca is 323 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Sampit (148 km), prays towards 292.9°, a difference of 0.2°.

Across the 140 cities in Indonesia on this site, the Qibla ranges from 290.2° in Merauke to 295.5° in Pelabuhanratu, a spread of 5.3°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Indonesia.

Qibla in cities near Pangkalanbuun

• Sampit292.9° · 148 km
• Palangkaraya292.7° · 260 km
• Banjarmasin292.9° · 337 km
• Banjarbaru292.9° · 366 km
• Pontianak292.7° · 390 km
• Tanjung Pandan293.9° · 443 km