Qibla · Ancash
Qibla direction in Chimbote
To face the Kaaba in Chimbote, turn to 70.4° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (19.6° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 13,308 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Chimbote should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 70.4°, the Qibla of Chimbote. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 70° 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 Chimbote
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 19.6° towards north: the result is the bearing of 70.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 20° 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 Chimbote, 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 Chimbote to Mecca points to 75.3° (east), 4.9° away from the correct 70.4°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 62 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 70.4° obtained? From the coordinates of Chimbote (9.0751° S, 78.5937° W) 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 Chimbote to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 13,308 km from Chimbote as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 13,271 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 16 h 09 min, although most pilgrims from Chimbote connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Chimbote run 8 hours behind Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Chimbote rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Chimbote
On 154 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Chimbote 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 March 2027 it happens at 12:09 local time.
On 86 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 November (28 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 15:59.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 15:59 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 14:16 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 13:11 |
| 1 March 2027 | 12:09 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 11:08 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 09:55 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 08:54 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 07:43 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | — | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 07:02 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 08:06 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 09:12 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:04 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 11:02 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 11:55 | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 13:07 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 14:18 |
| 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 happen at night in Chimbote (04:18 and 04:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 16:29 and 28 November 2027 at 16:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Chimbote points straight to Mecca.
Chimbote compared with other cities
Compared with Lima, 372 km away, the Qibla in Chimbote is turned 1.6° further anticlockwise (70.4° against 72.0°), and Mecca is 56 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Trujillo (117 km), prays towards 69.9°, a difference of 0.5°.
Across the 20 cities in Peru on this site, the Qibla ranges from 68.0° in Sullana to 74.1° in Tacna, a spread of 6.1°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Peru.
Qibla in cities near Chimbote
Qibla in Chimbote: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Chimbote?
It is 70.4° from true north, which is east: 19.6° north of east.
How far is Chimbote from Mecca?
13,308 km in a straight line over the globe, and 13,271 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Chimbote?
On 154 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 Chimbote not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 75.3°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Chimbote at 70.4°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 70.4° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.