Visits to the nuraghe are temporarily suspended for restoration; the usability data in this sheet are those that were in force before the site was closed.

The nuraghe is located on a small hill of limestone rock, at the exit of Isili, in the Sarcidano region.
Is Paras is one of the most elegant buildings in Nuragic Sardinia. It consists of a central tower partially enclosed by a three-lobed bastion including a large courtyard. Around the complex, an antewall was erected - at least on its E side - which emerges on the ground for a length of about m 30 and a thickness of m 2.
The main tower, with a circular plan (diameter 12.50 m x 12.70 m), in blocks of white limestone, 12.70 m high, was formed by two overlapping floors, the lower one of which is preserved today. The wall has, above the entrance, a gap caused by a subsidence of the masonry, a fact that has also involved a restoration work, with the replacement of the original damaged lintel. The entrance to the monument, facing S, raised above the courtyard by 1.40 m, is 2.80 m high. The corridor behind, truncated inwards (width 1.15 m at the entrance; 2.05 m at the bottom), 4.60 m long, has an ogival section (height 2.80 m at the entrance; m 5.75 at the bottom).
The inner chamber, in Tholos, is eccentric. It has a circular plan (diameter 6.40 m x 6.20 m) and has no subsidiary compartments. With its height of 11.80 m (with 33 rows), it is the highest in Sardinia. The wall work consists of subsquared limestone blocks and parallelepipeds, arranged in horizontal rows.
The stairwell that led to the first floor opens into the room itself - in the wall of the person entering - at a height of 5.25 m; on the floor there is a well closet (1.25 m in diameter at the mouth) explored to a depth of m 5. The staircase goes from s to d. (width m 0.80; height m 2-2.30), initially with a path of 4.50 m on an inclined plane and, later, in the final section (m 4), with 11 steps that led to the room on the first floor, now completely destroyed. Another narrow and deep storage-silo (width 0.50 m, up to 1.50 m deep, 1.25 m to a maximum depth of 3.05 m) is created in the masonry of the roof plan.
The tower dates back to the XV-XIV century BC.
In a second phase, in the XIII-XII century BC, the simple nuraghe was transformed into the “tancato” type. In fact, a smaller tower was built in front of the keep and a courtyard enclosed by rectilinear walls was spared between the two towers. Access was to E through a flat covered corridor that led to the courtyard.
This second tower, partly collapsed, is preserved for a maximum height of 2.50 m. The courtyard, in the shape of three quarters of a circle (m 4.80 x m 3.65), with slightly projecting walls at the top, has an area of 16.75 square meters.
A third phase, from the XII-XI century BC, saw the addition of two other towers, one in W and one in the N-E, connected to each other and to the oldest structures through rectilinear wall curtains (N-E/S-E, O/S-E) and a convex wall section (O/N-O).
The entrance to the bastion, open in the recessed sector of curtain E, leads into a corridor (length m 2.30; width m 0.95-1.10) that has, on the s., the entrance to the stairwell that led to the stands of the bastion; in the right wall - facing the stairwell - there is a quadrangular cabinet (m 0.43 x m 0.40). The entire structure was surrounded by an antemural equipped with towers, some sections of which were revealed during the 1988 excavations.
All around the nuraghe, inside and outside the antewall, there was a village of circular huts still to be excavated.

History of excavations
The nuraghe was excavated in 1974 by Maria Ausilia Fadda and in 1975-77 by Alberto Moravetti; excavations have recently resumed by Tatiana Cossu.

Bibliography
G. Lilliu, I nuraghi, torri preistoriche della Sardegna, Cagliari, La Zattera, 1962;
E. Contu, "L'architettura nuragica", in Ichnussa. La Sardegna dalle origini all'età classica, Milano, Scheiwiller, 1981;
A. Moravetti, "Nuraghe Is Paras - Isili", in Settimana dei beni culturali: 10 anni di attività nel territorio della Provincia di Nuoro, Nuoro, Soprintendenza archeologica per le province di Sassari e Nuoro, 1985;
T. Cossu, "Il nuraghe Is Paras di Isili: campagna di scavo 1998", in L'eredità del Sarcidano e della Barbagia di Seulo: patrimonio di conoscenza e di vita, a cura di M. Sanges, Cagliari, B&P, 2001, pp. 174-175;
L'eredità del Sarcidano e della Barbagia di Seulo: patrimonio di conoscenza e di vita, a cura di M. Sanges, Cagliari, B&P, 2001, pp. 170-173;
G. Lilliu, I nuraghi, torri preistoriche della Sardegna, rist. Nuoro, Ilisso, 2005, pp. 110-111, 244-247, 294-297, tavv. XXII-XXV.

How to get
There From Cagliari, take the SS 131 in the direction of Sassari. After passing the town of Monastir, leave the SS 131 and take the SS 128, direction Senorbì-Mandas. In Senorbì, follow the signs for Suelli, Mandas and Isili. The nuraghe is located just after the level crossing, in Is Paras, along the SS 128 that leads from Isili to Nurallao.