Qibla
Qibla direction from Sri Lanka
The Qibla is the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah, which every prayer faces. From Sri Lanka that is west-north-west: a little under 25 degrees to the right of due west, and about 4,590 kilometres away. Some people call this a namaz compass or a Qibla finder; it is the same direction either way.
Point it at Makkah
Kaaba compass
On a phone this reads the built-in compass and turns with you. On a desktop it holds true north up and shows the bearing to line up against a map.
Qibla from Colombo
294.79°
WNW · west-north-west · 4,587 km to the Kaaba
On a phone, tap Start compass and hold the device flat.
A phone compass is pulled off by metal shelving, speakers, car bodies and reinforced concrete. Step away from them, and check the reading in two places. Inside a mosque, follow the mihrab.
Twelve cities
Bearing and distance, city by city
Bearings are great-circle, clockwise from true north. Distances are over the surface of the Earth, to the Kaaba.
| City | Bearing | Compass | To the Kaaba |
|---|---|---|---|
| ColomboWestern | 294.79° | WNW | 4,587 km |
| KandyCentral | 294.15° | WNW | 4,650 km |
| GalleSouthern | 295.58° | WNW | 4,667 km |
| JaffnaNorthern | 291.83° | WNW | 4,484 km |
| BatticaloaEastern | 293.40° | WNW | 4,738 km |
| KalmunaiEastern | 293.66° | WNW | 4,766 km |
| BeruwalaWestern | 295.22° | WNW | 4,623 km |
| PuttalamNorth Western | 293.64° | WNW | 4,536 km |
| AkuranaCentral | 294.09° | WNW | 4,645 km |
| KattankudyEastern | 293.43° | WNW | 4,743 km |
| NegomboWestern | 294.51° | WNW | 4,574 km |
| TrincomaleeEastern | 292.67° | WNW | 4,654 km |
The bearing is measured clockwise from true north. If you are using a magnetic compass rather than a phone, add about 2.5 degrees in Colombo, which gives roughly 297. Most phone compass apps already correct for this. For prayer inside a mosque, follow the mihrab.
How the bearing is calculated
The Qibla is the initial bearing of the great circle from where you stand to the Kaaba, which is the shortest path over the surface of a sphere. With φ for latitude, λ for longitude and Δλ = λ₂ − λ₁:
θ = atan2( sin Δλ · cos φ₂, cos φ₁ · sin φ₂ − sin φ₁ · cos φ₂ · cos Δλ )
The result is unwound into the range 0 to 360 degrees. The Kaaba is taken as 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Distances use the haversine formula on a sphere of radius 6,371.0088 km, which is within about 0.3 per cent of a geodesic on the WGS-84 ellipsoid.
A great-circle bearing changes along the route, so it has to be worked out from your own position rather than copied from a neighbouring city. Colombo's 294.79° was checked against the adhan library and the AlAdhan Qibla API, which agree to two decimal places.
Questions
Qibla questions
West-north-west. From Colombo the bearing is 294.79 degrees measured clockwise from true north. Across the whole island it only moves between 291.83 degrees in Jaffna and 295.58 degrees in Galle, so anywhere in Sri Lanka you face the same general direction.
No. Due west is 270 degrees. The Kaaba is north of Sri Lanka as well as west of it, so the Qibla sits about 25 degrees to the right of due west when you are facing that way. Lining up with due west would leave you noticeably off.
A magnetic compass points to magnetic north, not true north, and in Colombo the two differ by about 2.5 degrees, so a magnetic reading for the Qibla is roughly 297. Most phone compass apps already correct for this. Metal, speakers, car bodies and reinforced concrete pull any compass reading further off. Inside a mosque, the mihrab settles it.
About 4,587 kilometres from Colombo, measured as a great circle over the surface of the Earth. Jaffna is the closest of the twelve cities at 4,484 km and Kalmunai the furthest at 4,766 km. A flight is longer, because aircraft follow published routes rather than the shortest line.
Next: today's Azan times for Colombo, or the Islamic calendar.
One day, no compass needed
In the Haram the Kaaba is in front of you. We arrange Umrah from Colombo with the prices and inclusions written down before you pay anything.