Qibla direction in Toliara

How to face the Qibla in Toliara

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 5.1° towards west: the result is the bearing of 354.9°. The direction is close to due north, which makes it easy to remember.

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. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. 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 Toliara to Mecca points to 355.2°, only 0.3° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 354.9° bearing remains the exact one.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 23.3500° S, 43.6667° 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 Toliara to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,996 km from Toliara as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,335 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 23 min, although most pilgrims from Toliara connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Toliara run the same time as Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Toliara rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Toliara

On 349 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Toliara while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in January (31 days); for example, on 1 January 2027 it happens at 12:09 local time.

The sun is never opposite the Qibla of Toliara during daylight, so the shadow method does not apply here; the left-hand column is the one to use.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Toliara: at 12:18 and 12:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Toliara compared with other cities

Compared with Antananarivo, 636 km away, the Qibla in Toliara is turned 5.9° further clockwise (354.9° against 349.0°), and Mecca is 433 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Fianarantsoa (410 km), prays towards 350.2°, a difference of 4.8°.

Among the 7 cities in Madagascar on this site, Toliara has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 344.5° in Antsiranana. Across the country the direction varies by 10.4°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Madagascar.

Qibla in cities near Toliara

• Fianarantsoa350.2° · 410 km
• Antsirabe349.9° · 521 km
• Antananarivo349.0° · 636 km
• Toamasina346.3° · 831 km
• Mahajanga350.1° · 893 km
• Antsiranana344.5° · 1,363 km