Qibla · Udon Thani Province
Qibla direction in Udon Thani
To face the Kaaba in Udon Thani, turn to 285.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (15.0° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,575 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Udon Thani should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 285.0°, the Qibla of Udon Thani. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 285° 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 Udon Thani
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 15.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 285.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 15° 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 Udon Thani, 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 Udon Thani to Mecca points to 273.9° (west), 11.1° away from the correct 285.0°. 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 285.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Udon Thani (17.4157° N, 102.7859° 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 Udon Thani to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 6,575 km from Udon Thani as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,554 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 14 min, although most pilgrims from Udon Thani connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Udon Thani 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 Udon Thani rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Udon Thani
On 72 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Udon Thani while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (29 days); for example, on 15 May 2027 it happens at 12:29 local time.
On 171 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 February 2027 at 06:59.
| 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 | — | 06:59 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 07:53 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 08:43 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 09:42 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 10:32 |
| 1 May 2027 | — | 11:31 |
| 15 May 2027 | 12:29 | — |
| 1 June 2027 | 13:50 | — |
| 15 June 2027 | — | — |
| 1 July 2027 | — | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 13:41 | — |
| 1 August 2027 | 12:26 | — |
| 15 August 2027 | — | 11:28 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 10:18 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 09:22 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 08:17 |
| 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 Udon Thani: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Udon Thani compared with other cities
Compared with Bangkok, 475 km away, the Qibla in Udon Thani is turned 1.9° further anticlockwise (285.0° against 286.9°), and Mecca is 124 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Khon Kaen (108 km), prays towards 285.5°, a difference of 0.6°.
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 Udon Thani
- Khon Kaen285.5° · 108 km
- Nakhon Ratchasima286.3° · 282 km
- Ubon Ratchathani286.4° · 327 km
- Lampang283.9° · 362 km
- Kabin Buri286.9° · 402 km
- Si Maha Phot286.8° · 407 km
Qibla in Udon Thani: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Udon Thani?
It is 285.0° from true north, which is west: 15.0° north of west.
How far is Udon Thani from Mecca?
6,575 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,554 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Udon Thani?
On 72 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 Udon Thani not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 273.9°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Udon Thani at 285.0°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 285.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.