Qibla direction in Vacoas

How to face the Qibla in Vacoas

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 23.5° towards west: the result is the bearing of 336.5°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at north would leave you about 23° off.

Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Vacoas, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Vacoas is a handy reference, because the prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

On a flat (Mercator) map, the straight line from Vacoas to Mecca points to 337.5°, only 1.0° away from the true Qibla. Here the two methods practically agree, so a map gives a usable first idea, although the 336.5° bearing remains the exact one.

How is the figure of 336.5° obtained? From the coordinates of Vacoas (20.2981° S, 57.4783° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.

Distance from Vacoas to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 5,020 km from Vacoas as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,340 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 24 min, although most pilgrims from Vacoas connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Vacoas run 1 hour ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Vacoas rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Vacoas

On 307 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Vacoas 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 February 2027 it happens at 12:29 local time.

On 56 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 December (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 12:08.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Vacoas: at 13:18 and 13:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Vacoas compared with other cities

The Qibla here is practically the same as in Port Louis (336.5°), and Mecca is 13 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Port Louis (15 km), prays towards 336.5°, a difference of 0.1°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Mauritius.

Qibla in cities near Vacoas

• Port Louis336.5° · 15 km