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Qibla Direction Finder

The exact Qibla direction from your city, in degrees from true north, with the distance to the Kaaba in Makkah.

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Qibla direction

267.7° from true north, towards W

Distance to the Kaaba
2,800 km (1,740 miles)

From Karachi, face 267.7° clockwise from true north (W), along the shortest path over the globe to the Kaaba, 2,800 km away.

How it's worked out

  1. Your position24.8607°, 67.0011°
  2. The Kaaba21.4225° N, 39.8262° E
  3. Great-circle bearingatan2(sin Δλ · cos φ₂, cos φ₁ · sin φ₂ − sin φ₁ · cos φ₂ · cos Δλ)267.74°
  • This is from true north. A magnetic compass can be several degrees off depending on where you are; a phone compass with location on corrects for this.

How the direction is worked out

Bearing = atan2(sin Δλ · cos φ₂, cos φ₁ · sin φ₂ − sin φ₁ · cos φ₂ · cos Δλ)

φ₁ and φ₂ are the latitudes of your location and the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), and Δλ is the difference in longitude. The result is the starting direction of the great circle, measured clockwise from true north.

Worked example

From Karachi (24.86° N, 67.00° E) the Qibla is at 267.7° from true north, just south of west, and the Kaaba is about 2,800 km away. From London it's 119.0°, about 4,794 km away.

Questions people ask

What is the Qibla direction from Pakistan?

About 268° from true north in Karachi, 260° in Lahore and 256° in Islamabad: a little south of due west.

What is the Qibla direction from London?

About 119° from true north, roughly south-east. From New York it's about 58°, north-east, because the shortest path over the globe curves north.

Why isn't the Qibla straight towards Makkah on a flat map?

The Earth is round. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path over the globe, which looks curved on a flat map. That's why it points north-east from North America.

Is a magnetic compass accurate enough?

A compass points to magnetic north, which can differ from true north by several degrees. A phone compass with location turned on usually corrects for this.

Formula and rules last checked 25 October 2026Written and tested by the CalcPenguin teamReport a problem