Qibla direction in Kathmandu

How to face the Qibla in Kathmandu

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 1.7° towards north: the result is the bearing of 271.7°. The direction is close to due west, which makes it easy to remember.

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 Kathmandu, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque 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 Kathmandu to Mecca points to 261.4° (west), 10.4° away from the correct 271.7°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 22 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 271.7° is the direction in which the shortest route from 27.7017° N, 85.3206° 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 Kathmandu to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 4,628 km from Kathmandu as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,554 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 57 min, although most pilgrims from Kathmandu connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Kathmandu run 2.8 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Kathmandu rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Kathmandu

On 172 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Kathmandu 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 17:48 local time.

On 185 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 May (31 days), for instance on 1 April 2027 at 06:56.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Kathmandu: at 15:03 and 15:12 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Kathmandu compared with other cities

The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Hetauda (42 km), prays towards 271.9°, a difference of 0.2°.

Across the 13 cities in Nepal on this site, the Qibla ranges from 268.3° in Dhangadhi to 273.9° in Biratnagar, a spread of 5.6°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for Nepal.

Qibla in cities near Kathmandu

• Hetauda271.9° · 42 km
• Bharatpur, Bagmati Province, Nepal271.4° · 87 km
• Birgunj272.3° · 88 km
• Janakpur Dham273.1° · 124 km
• Pokhara270.5° · 147 km
• Lahān273.3° · 158 km