Qibla · East Nusa Tenggara
Qibla direction in Kupang
To face the Kaaba in Kupang, turn to 292.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (22.2° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 9,786 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Kupang should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 292.2°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 292°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Kupang
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 22.2° towards north: the result is the bearing of 292.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 22° off.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. The simplest check in Kupang is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Kupang. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Kupang to Mecca points to 291.0°, only 1.2° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 292.2° bearing remains the exact one.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 10.1708° S, 123.6069° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Kupang to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 9,786 km from Kupang as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 9,876 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 12 h 01 min, although most pilgrims from Kupang connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Kupang run 5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Kupang rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Kupang
On 186 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Kupang while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 March 2027 it happens at 12:22 local time.
On 126 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 06:04.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 06:04 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 09:32 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 10:40 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 11:33 |
| 1 March 2027 | 12:22 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 13:09 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 14:03 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 14:48 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 15:43 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 16:32 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 16:30 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 15:39 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 14:35 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 13:42 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 12:42 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 11:49 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 10:45 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 09:54 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 09:00 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 06:02 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Only one of them is visible in Kupang: at 17:27 on 16 July 2027, the sun points exactly to the Qibla.
Kupang compared with other cities
Compared with Jakarta, 1,896 km away, the Qibla in Kupang is turned 3.0° further anticlockwise (292.2° against 295.2°), and Mecca is 1,866 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Labuan Bajo (449 km), prays towards 292.8°, a difference of 0.6°.
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 Kupang
Qibla in Kupang: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Kupang?
It is 292.2° from true north, which is west: 22.2° north of west.
How far is Kupang from Mecca?
9,786 km in a straight line over the globe, and 9,876 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Kupang?
On 186 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 Indonesia?
No. It ranges from 290.2° to 295.5° across the country, so each city has its own bearing.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 292.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.