Qibla · Eastern Province
Qibla direction in Kalmunai
To face the Kaaba in Kalmunai, turn to 293.7° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-west (23.7° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,766 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Kalmunai should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 293.7°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 294°; 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 Kalmunai
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 23.7° towards north: the result is the bearing of 293.7°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 24° 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. The simplest check in Kalmunai is a local mosque: its mihrab and prayer lines already point to the Qibla. See the mosques of Kalmunai. 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 Kalmunai to Mecca points to 289.1° (west), 4.6° away from the correct 293.7°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 7 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 7.4090° N, 81.8347° E 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 Kalmunai to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,766 km from Kalmunai as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,870 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 06 min, although most pilgrims from Kalmunai connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Kalmunai 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 Kalmunai rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Kalmunai
On 147 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Kalmunai 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 12:24 local time.
On 190 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 March (31 days), for instance on 15 January 2027 at 07:17.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 07:17 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 08:22 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 09:13 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 10:01 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 10:47 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 11:40 |
| 15 April 2027 | 12:24 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 13:17 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 14:05 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 15:01 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | 15:35 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 15:32 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 14:59 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 14:03 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | 13:14 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 12:11 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 11:19 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 10:20 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 09:28 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 08:26 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 07:37 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 06:46 |
| 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 Kalmunai: at 14:48 and 14:57 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Kalmunai compared with other cities
Compared with Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka, 225 km away, the Qibla in Kalmunai is turned 1.1° further anticlockwise (293.7° against 294.8°), and Mecca is 178 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Kandy (133 km), prays towards 294.2°, a difference of 0.5°.
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 Kalmunai
- Kandy294.2° · 133 km
- Trincomalee292.7° · 146 km
- Negombo294.5° · 222 km
- Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka294.8° · 225 km
- Moratuwa294.9° · 227 km
- Jaffna291.8° · 322 km
Qibla in Kalmunai: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Kalmunai?
It is 293.7° from true north, which is north-west: 23.7° north of west.
How far is Kalmunai from Mecca?
4,766 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,870 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Kalmunai?
On 147 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 Kalmunai not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 289.1°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Kalmunai at 293.7°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 293.7° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.