Indian sandstone colours span far more than the grey slabs most people picture: from the silver tones of Kandla Grey to the green-brown blends of Raj Green and the apricot warmth of Modak, each variety comes from a specific part of the Rajasthan sandstone belt and behaves slightly differently. This guide covers every major colour — where it’s quarried, what it actually looks like laid, and which projects suit it — from a company that quarries this stone at source.
• Kandla Grey, Raj Green and Autumn Brown are consistently the most popular varieties in UK gardens.
• Colour consistency varies by type: Kandla Grey is the most uniform; Rainbow is deliberately dramatic.
• Fossil Mint is quarried at the same site we own ourselves — the source behind our Fort White range too — so lead times and availability reflect what we’re actually extracting, not what a supplier reports.
• Every natural sandstone benefits from sealing — porcelain versions of these colours exist for zero-maintenance projects.
Where Indian Sandstone Comes From
According to Indian government mineral data, over 90% of the country’s sandstone deposits are in Rajasthan, spread across the districts of Bharatpur, Dholpur, Kota, Jodhpur, Bundi, Chittorgarh and others. The stone industry journal Litos Online documents the Kandla Grey quarries alone stretching across a 125 km belt in the Bhilwara and Bundi districts. Each quarrying area produces stone with its own mineral signature — which is why the colours below aren’t interchangeable products but genuinely different stones.
The Major Indian Sandstone Colours Compared
| Variety | Colour character | Consistency | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kandla Grey | Dove grey with occasional buff tones | High — most uniform of all | Modern gardens, large patios needing consistency |
| Raj Green | Light green, brown and subtle plum blend | Medium — attractive variation | Traditional English gardens, cottage settings |
| Autumn Brown | Flat browns and greys with occasional maroon | Medium | Warm-toned patios, rustic landscaping |
| Modak | Warm apricot, tan and dusky pink | Medium | Sunny aspects, Mediterranean-style spaces |
| Fossil Mint | Light cream with pink hints and fossil imprints | Low-medium — fossils vary slab to slab | Feature patios where character is the point |
| Rainbow | Banded swirls of brown, red and purple | Deliberately dramatic | Statement areas, pathways, mixed-material designs |
Kandla Grey — The Consistent One
Quarried across the Bhilwara–Bundi belt, Kandla Grey is a hard, quartz-rich stone with a fairly consistent dove-grey colour — the reason it became the default choice for contemporary UK and Irish gardens. Its popularity is also why a porcelain version now exists; we compared the two in detail in our Kandla Grey porcelain vs sandstone guide.
Raj Green — The English Garden Classic
UK suppliers consistently rank Raj Green among the most popular Indian sandstones for British gardens. Litos Online notes that stone from the same Rajasthan belt is commercialised under the Raj Green name in the UK. Its blend of light green, brown and plum tones weathers beautifully alongside lawns and planting — the go-to for traditional settings.
Autumn Brown and Modak — The Warm Palette
Autumn Brown mixes flat browns and greys with occasional maroon streaks, suiting rustic and heritage projects. Modak, quarried in the Kota district, brings warm apricot and dusky pink tones that hold their glow in sunlight.
Fossil Mint — Quarried at Our Own Site
Fossil Mint is the character stone in our range: light cream with mint-green undertones, softened edges and a naturally weathered texture from a tumbling finish, with bronze and black fossil imprints running through it — no two slabs match, which is a feature buyers specifically choose it for rather than a flaw to work around.
Mint is quarried from the same site we own and operate ourselves — the same quarry behind our Fort White range. That matters more than it might sound: most Indian sandstone exporters, including several named earlier in this guide, are buying stone from third-party quarry owners and reselling it. When we quote a lead time, a colour consistency range, or a minimum order quantity on Mint, it’s based on what we’re actually extracting that week, not on what a supplier tells us they have available.
The fossil markings themselves are the remains of plant and marine life pressed into the sand beds millions of years ago — they surface as bronze, russet and charcoal traces that run differently through every block we cut. In practice this means a Mint patio reads as one soft cream-green field from a distance, then rewards a closer look with detail no manufactured tile can reproduce. The tumbled finish rounds the edges and mutes the sawn lines, which is why Mint suits cottage gardens, heritage courtyards and anywhere a brand-new “sharp” look would feel out of place.
Because we control extraction, we also cut Mint into the full range a project needs from a single source: paving slabs, polished pool coping, cobbles and setts, edging, and custom-cut pieces for steps and features. For importers, that consistency is the practical difference — the coping on the pool matches the paving around it because both came out of the same beds, not from two different suppliers’ stockyards.
Rainbow — The Statement Stone
Rainbow sandstone from the Rajasthan belt shows bold banded swirls of browns, reds and purples formed by mineral layering. It divides opinion by design: spectacular in feature areas and pathways, overwhelming across a whole large patio. Sample it before committing to volume.
Choosing: Three Practical Questions
- How much variation do you want? Kandla Grey for uniformity; Fossil Mint or Rainbow for maximum character; Raj Green and Autumn Brown sit between.
- What’s the setting? Grey tones suit contemporary schemes; greens and browns disappear into planted gardens; warm tones suit sun-facing spaces.
- Who’s maintaining it? All natural sandstone benefits from sealing every 1–2 years. If that’s a dealbreaker, porcelain versions of Kandla Grey and other colours deliver the look with zero sealing — see our porcelain range.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Indian sandstone colour is most popular in the UK?
Kandla Grey, Raj Green and Autumn Brown are consistently the three most popular Indian sandstone colours for UK gardens, according to multiple UK paving suppliers. Kandla Grey leads in contemporary schemes for its uniformity, while Raj Green dominates traditional garden settings.
Where is Indian sandstone quarried?
Over 90% of India’s sandstone deposits are in Rajasthan, across districts including Bundi, Kota, Bharatpur, Dholpur and Jodhpur. Kandla Grey alone is quarried along a 125 km belt in the Bhilwara and Bundi districts, documented by the stone industry journal Litos Online.
Do all Indian sandstone colours need sealing?
Yes — sandstone is naturally porous regardless of colour, and UK trade guidance recommends sealing at installation and resealing every one to two years to resist staining, moss and algae. Porcelain reproductions of these colours require no sealing at any point.
Is Indian sandstone frost-resistant?
Good-quality, properly laid Indian sandstone performs well in UK and Irish winters, and dense varieties like Kandla Grey are noted for frost resistance. Correct installation, drainage and sealing all reduce freeze-thaw risk in any natural stone.
Does SNK Surfaces own the quarry for its sandstone?
Yes, for Fossil Mint and Fort White — both are quarried at a site we own and operate ourselves in Rajasthan, rather than sourced through third-party quarry owners. Other colours in this guide are sourced from quarrying partners across the Rajasthan sandstone belt.
Sourcing sandstone at origin? We quarry natural sandstone in Rajasthan and ship container-direct to the UK, Ireland and Europe — every colour above, with free samples before you order. Get a quote or browse the full sandstone range.