Qibla · Sudurpashchim Pradesh
Qibla direction in Dhangadhi
To face the Kaaba in Dhangadhi, turn to 268.3° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (1.7° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,165 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Dhangadhi should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 268.3°, the Qibla of Dhangadhi. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 268° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Dhangadhi
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 1.7° towards south: the result is the bearing of 268.3°. The direction is close to due west, which makes it easy to remember.
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 Dhangadhi, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its 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
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Dhangadhi to Mecca points to 258.8° (west), 9.4° away from the correct 268.3°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 17 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.
How is the figure of 268.3° obtained? From the coordinates of Dhangadhi (28.7016° N, 80.5899° 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 Dhangadhi to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,165 km from Dhangadhi as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,082 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 24 min, although most pilgrims from Dhangadhi connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Dhangadhi 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 Dhangadhi rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Dhangadhi
On 186 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Dhangadhi 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 17:39 local time.
On 171 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 06:45.
| 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 | 17:39 | 06:45 |
| 15 April 2027 | 16:55 | 07:21 |
| 1 May 2027 | 16:08 | 08:02 |
| 15 May 2027 | 15:31 | 08:38 |
| 1 June 2027 | 14:56 | 09:16 |
| 15 June 2027 | 14:42 | 09:36 |
| 1 July 2027 | 14:48 | 09:37 |
| 15 July 2027 | 15:10 | 09:19 |
| 1 August 2027 | 15:49 | 08:41 |
| 15 August 2027 | 16:24 | 08:02 |
| 1 September 2027 | 17:07 | 07:11 |
| 15 September 2027 | 17:42 | 06:27 |
| 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 Dhangadhi: at 15:03 and 15:12 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Dhangadhi compared with other cities
Compared with Kathmandu, 477 km away, the Qibla in Dhangadhi is turned 3.4° further anticlockwise (268.3° against 271.7°), and Mecca is 464 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Birendranagar (101 km), prays towards 268.9°, a difference of 0.7°.
Among the 13 cities in Nepal on this site, Dhangadhi has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 273.9° in Biratnagar. Across the country the direction varies by 5.6°.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Nepal.
Qibla in cities near Dhangadhi
- Birendranagar268.9° · 101 km
- Nepalgunj269.6° · 124 km
- Butwal270.9° · 302 km
- Pokhara270.5° · 334 km
- Bharatpur, Bagmati Province, Nepal271.4° · 394 km
- Hetauda271.9° · 458 km
Qibla in Dhangadhi: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Dhangadhi?
It is 268.3° from true north, which is west: 1.7° south of west.
How far is Dhangadhi from Mecca?
4,165 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,082 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Dhangadhi?
On 186 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 Dhangadhi not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 258.8°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Dhangadhi at 268.3°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 268.3° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.