Qibla · Canary Islands
Qibla direction in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
To face the Kaaba in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, turn to 84.6° measured clockwise from true north, which is east (5.4° north of east). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 5,581 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 84.6°, the Qibla of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 85° 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 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards east and move a further 5.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 84.6°. The direction is close to due east, 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 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 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 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Mecca points to 97.6° (east), 13.0° away from the correct 84.6°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 41 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 84.6° obtained? From the coordinates of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (28.1018° N, 15.4157° 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 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 5,581 km from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 5,455 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 04 min, although most pilgrims from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria run 3 hours behind Mecca in winter and 2 hours behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
On 153 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 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 08:30 local time.
On 201 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 15 March 2027 at 18:40.
| 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 | — | 18:40 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 18:46 |
| 15 April 2027 | 08:30 | 18:02 |
| 1 May 2027 | 09:12 | 17:14 |
| 15 May 2027 | 09:48 | 16:37 |
| 1 June 2027 | 10:26 | 16:02 |
| 15 June 2027 | 10:46 | 15:48 |
| 1 July 2027 | 10:46 | 15:54 |
| 15 July 2027 | 10:28 | 16:17 |
| 1 August 2027 | 09:50 | 16:57 |
| 15 August 2027 | 09:11 | 17:32 |
| 1 September 2027 | 08:19 | 18:15 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 18:50 |
| 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 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: at 10:18 and 10:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria compared with other cities
Compared with Madrid, 1,738 km away, the Qibla in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is turned 19.4° further anticlockwise (84.6° against 104.0°), and Mecca is 983 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (92 km), prays towards 84.6°, the same bearing to the tenth of a degree.
Across the 49 cities in Spain on this site, the Qibla ranges from 84.6° in Santa Cruz de Tenerife to 112.0° in Girona, a spread of 27.4°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Spain.
Qibla in cities near Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
- Santa Cruz de Tenerife84.6° · 92 km
- Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain97.7° · 1,269 km
- Huelva98.0° · 1,290 km
- Jerez de la Frontera98.0° · 1,291 km
- Algeciras97.9° · 1,294 km
- Seville98.8° · 1,357 km
Qibla in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria?
It is 84.6° from true north, which is east: 5.4° north of east.
How far is Las Palmas de Gran Canaria from Mecca?
5,581 km in a straight line over the globe, and 5,455 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria?
On 153 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 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 97.6°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Las Palmas de Gran Canaria at 84.6°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 84.6° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.