Qibla · Lampang Province
Qibla direction in Lampang
To face the Kaaba in Lampang, turn to 283.9° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (13.9° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,213 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Lampang should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 283.9°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 284°; 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 Lampang
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 13.9° towards north: the result is the bearing of 283.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 14° 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 Lampang to Mecca points to 273.2° (west), 10.7° away from the correct 283.9°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 36 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 18.2923° N, 99.4928° 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 Lampang to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 6,213 km from Lampang as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,193 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 7 h 49 min, although most pilgrims from Lampang connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Lampang run 4 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Lampang rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Lampang
On 80 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Lampang 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 1 May 2027 it happens at 18:13 local time.
On 170 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 1 March 2027 at 07:52.
| 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 | — | 07:52 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 08:43 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 09:42 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 10:31 |
| 1 May 2027 | 18:13 | 11:30 |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:28 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 13:48 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 13:40 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 17:40 | 12:25 |
| 15 August 2027 | — | 11:27 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 10:17 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 09:21 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 08:16 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 07:20 |
| 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 Lampang: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Lampang compared with other cities
Compared with Bangkok, 516 km away, the Qibla in Lampang is turned 3.0° further anticlockwise (283.9° against 286.9°), and Mecca is 238 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Chiang Mai (77 km), prays towards 283.5°, a difference of 0.4°.
Across the 27 cities in Thailand on this site, the Qibla ranges from 283.5° in Chiang Mai to 290.7° in Hat Yai, a spread of 7.2°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Thailand.
Qibla in cities near Lampang
- Chiang Mai283.5° · 77 km
- Udon Thani285.0° · 362 km
- Khon Kaen285.5° · 410 km
- Nakhon Ratchasima286.3° · 462 km
- Khlong Luang286.7° · 486 km
- Pak Kret286.8° · 499 km
Qibla in Lampang: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Lampang?
It is 283.9° from true north, which is west: 13.9° north of west.
How far is Lampang from Mecca?
6,213 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,193 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Lampang?
On 80 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 Lampang not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 273.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Lampang at 283.9°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 283.9° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.