Qibla direction in Payakumbuh

How to face the Qibla in Payakumbuh

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 24.3° towards north: the result is the bearing of 294.3°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west 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 Payakumbuh, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of one of the mosques of Payakumbuh 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 Payakumbuh to Mecca points to 290.0° (west), 4.3° away from the correct 294.3°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 14 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 294.3° is the direction in which the shortest route from 0.2159° S, 100.6334° 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 Payakumbuh to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 7,015 km from Payakumbuh as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 7,109 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 45 min, although most pilgrims from Payakumbuh connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Payakumbuh 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 Payakumbuh rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Payakumbuh

On 187 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Payakumbuh 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 13:03 local time.

On 178 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 07:41.

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

Payakumbuh compared with other cities

Compared with Jakarta, 959 km away, the Qibla in Payakumbuh is turned 0.9° further anticlockwise (294.3° against 295.2°), and Mecca is 906 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Bukittinggi (31 km), prays towards 294.4°, a difference of 0.1°.

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 Payakumbuh

• Bukittinggi294.4° · 31 km
• Padang294.7° · 87 km
• Pekanbaru293.8° · 121 km
• Sungai Penuh295.0° · 221 km
• Dumai293.3° · 228 km
• Padangsidempuan293.8° · 233 km