At a glance
- Colombo, the capital: 295°, west-north-west, 4,587 km from the Kaaba.
- The Qibla turns by 3° across the country, from 292° in Jaffna to 295° in Moratuwa.
- Closest to Makkah: Jaffna, 4,483 km. Farthest: Kalmunai, 4,766 km.
- Around Colombo, a magnetic compass points about 2° west of true north (World Magnetic Model 2025, for 2026). On a needle compass, the Qibla there is about 297°.
Qibla from every city in Sri Lanka
Cities of 100,000 people or more, largest first.
| City | Qibla | Direction | Distance to the Kaaba (km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colombo | 295° | west-north-west | 4,587 |
| Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia | 295° | west-north-west | 4,594 |
| Maharagama | 295° | west-north-west | 4,599 |
| Jaffna | 292° | west-north-west | 4,483 |
| Moratuwa | 295° | west-north-west | 4,598 |
| Negombo | 295° | west-north-west | 4,573 |
| Pita Kotte | 295° | west-north-west | 4,595 |
| Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte | 295° | west-north-west | 4,596 |
| Kandy | 294° | west-north-west | 4,650 |
| Trincomalee | 293° | west-north-west | 4,653 |
| Kalmunai | 294° | west-north-west | 4,766 |
Not on the list? Search any town or use your location on the live compass.
Reading these numbers
Each bearing is measured clockwise from true north along the shortest path over the globe, a great circle, which is how the Qibla is worked out. A flat map can mislead, because the Earth is round.
Phone compasses work best after calibrating with a figure-8, away from metal and magnetic cases. Our guide to finding the Qibla also covers the sun, the local mosque and praying when unsure.
Qibla in other countries
Bangladesh China India Indonesia Iran Japan Myanmar (Burma) Pakistan Philippines Thailand Türkiye Vietnam
City data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Magnetic declination: the World Magnetic Model 2025 (NOAA and the British Geological Survey).