Qibla · Koshi Province
Qibla direction in Dharān
To face the Kaaba in Dharān, turn to 273.5° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (3.5° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,826 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Dharān should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 273.5°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 274°; 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 Dharān
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 3.5° towards north: the result is the bearing of 273.5°. The direction is close to due west, 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Dharān to Mecca points to 262.9° (west), 10.6° away from the correct 273.5°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 25 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 angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 26.8144° N, 87.2797° 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 Dharān to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,826 km from Dharān as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,758 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 11 min, although most pilgrims from Dharān connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Dharān 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 Dharān rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Dharān
On 161 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Dharān 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 15 April 2027 it happens at 17:08 local time.
On 193 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 07:06.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | — | — |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 07:06 |
| 15 April 2027 | 17:08 | 07:45 |
| 1 May 2027 | 16:16 | 08:31 |
| 15 May 2027 | 15:35 | 09:11 |
| 1 June 2027 | 14:54 | 09:54 |
| 15 June 2027 | 14:37 | 10:18 |
| 1 July 2027 | 14:44 | 10:18 |
| 15 July 2027 | 15:10 | 09:56 |
| 1 August 2027 | 15:55 | 09:12 |
| 15 August 2027 | 16:34 | 08:30 |
| 1 September 2027 | 17:21 | 07:34 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 06:47 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Dharān: at 15:03 and 15:12 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Dharān compared with other cities
Compared with Kathmandu, 217 km away, the Qibla in Dharān is turned 1.8° further clockwise (273.5° against 271.7°), and Mecca is 198 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Biratnagar (40 km), prays towards 273.9°, a difference of 0.4°.
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 Dharān
- Biratnagar273.9° · 40 km
- Lahān273.3° · 80 km
- Janakpur Dham273.1° · 135 km
- Kathmandu271.7° · 217 km
- Hetauda271.9° · 233 km
- Birgunj272.3° · 239 km
Qibla in Dharān: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Dharān?
It is 273.5° from true north, which is west: 3.5° north of west.
How far is Dharān from Mecca?
4,826 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,758 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Dharān?
On 161 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.
Why is the Qibla in Dharān not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 262.9°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Dharān at 273.5°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 273.5° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.