Paras stone

Paras is the soft, grayish-green volcanic stone you'll find covering walls, temple gates and water features all across Bali. It's quarried mostly in the east of the island, near Karangasem, and it's been used for centuries to carve the famously elaborate temple reliefs and gateways (candi bentar). In luxury hotels, it does two things: it makes a building feel rooted in the island instead of imported, and it grows mossy over time, which adds soul. Look for it at COMO Shambhala Estate, the Mandapa Reserve, Bambu Indah, and pretty much any Aman or Bensley-designed villa in Bali. Often paired with thatched alang-alang roofs and dark teak, that's the classic Balinese material trio.