Qibla · Cajamarca Department
Qibla direction in Cajamarca
To face the Kaaba in Cajamarca, turn to 69.4° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (20.6° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 13,225 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Cajamarca should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 69.4°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 69°; 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 Cajamarca
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 20.6° towards north: the result is the bearing of 69.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at east would leave you about 21° off.
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 Cajamarca to Mecca points to 76.2° (east), 6.7° away from the correct 69.4°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 76 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 7.1638° S, 78.5003° W 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 Cajamarca to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 13,225 km from Cajamarca as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 13,177 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 16 h 04 min, although most pilgrims from Cajamarca connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Cajamarca 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 Cajamarca rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Cajamarca
On 157 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Cajamarca while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in August (31 days); for example, on 15 March 2027 it happens at 11:30 local time.
On 99 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 (30 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 16:10.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 16:10 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 14:34 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 13:31 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 12:30 |
| 15 March 2027 | 11:30 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 10:18 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 09:17 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 08:07 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 07:00 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | — | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | — | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 07:28 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 08:30 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 09:35 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 10:26 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 11:23 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 12:16 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 13:26 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 14:35 |
| 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 Cajamarca (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 Cajamarca points straight to Mecca.
Cajamarca compared with other cities
Compared with Lima, 566 km away, the Qibla in Cajamarca is turned 2.6° further anticlockwise (69.4° against 72.0°), and Mecca is 27 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Trujillo (121 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 Cajamarca
Qibla in Cajamarca: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Cajamarca?
It is 69.4° from true north, which is east: 20.6° north of east.
How far is Cajamarca from Mecca?
13,225 km in a straight line over the globe, and 13,177 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Cajamarca?
On 157 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 Cajamarca not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 76.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Cajamarca at 69.4°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 69.4° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.