Qibla · Central Province
Qibla direction in Kandy
To face the Kaaba in Kandy, turn to 294.2° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-west (24.2° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,650 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Kandy should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 294.2°, the Qibla of Kandy. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 294° 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 Kandy
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 24.2° towards north: the result is the bearing of 294.2°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 24° 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 Kandy, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. Any of the mosques of Kandy is a handy reference, because the 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 Kandy to Mecca points to 289.7° (west), 4.4° away from the correct 294.2°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 6 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 294.2° obtained? From the coordinates of Kandy (7.2906° N, 80.6336° 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 Kandy to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,650 km from Kandy as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,759 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 5 h 58 min, although most pilgrims from Kandy connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Kandy run 2.5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Kandy rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Kandy
On 148 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Kandy 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 12:30 local time.
On 204 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 January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 06:48.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 06:48 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 07:31 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 08:33 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 09:23 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 10:10 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 10:54 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 11:47 |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:30 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 13:21 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 14:07 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 15:00 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 15:30 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 15:29 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 14:59 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 14:06 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 13:18 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:17 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 11:26 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 10:28 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 09:37 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 08:36 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 07:49 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 07:01 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 06:35 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Kandy: at 14:48 and 14:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Kandy compared with other cities
Compared with Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, 95 km away, the Qibla in Kandy is turned 0.6° further anticlockwise (294.2° against 294.8°), and Mecca is 62 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Negombo (88 km), prays towards 294.5°, a difference of 0.4°.
Across the 7 cities in Sri Lanka on this site, the Qibla ranges from 291.8° in Jaffna to 294.9° in Moratuwa, a spread of 3.1°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Sri Lanka.
Qibla in cities near Kandy
- Negombo294.5° · 88 km
- Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka294.8° · 95 km
- Moratuwa294.9° · 101 km
- Kalmunai293.7° · 133 km
- Trincomalee292.7° · 157 km
- Jaffna291.8° · 273 km
Qibla in Kandy: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Kandy?
It is 294.2° from true north, which is north-west: 24.2° north of west.
How far is Kandy from Mecca?
4,650 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,759 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Kandy?
On 148 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 Kandy not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 289.7°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Kandy at 294.2°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 294.2° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.