As Croatian folk music blasts in the background, my family makes our way through windy mountain roads in our tiny rental car. We drive quickly by tiny villages and rolling green hills, dotted with trees, where happy sheep graze. The mountains are very beautiful, but only a preview of the spectacular place we are soon enter. Before long, the drive is over, the music turned off, the tickets bought, and we are entering the park. 

Plitvice Lakes is a famous national park and world heritage site in Croatia. The park is one of the oldest in Southeast Europe, and was founded in 1949. The park attracts a million people year from all parts of the world every year, who come to experience this natural wonder with their own eyes. 

Walking through the park is unbelievable. The water, seen in sixteen lakes, is absolutely stunning. Minerals in the water cause it to transform from a sparkling blue hue to an emerald green, depending on the amount of sunlight it is exposed to. But that's not all. Waterfalls are everywhere, around every corner, and rushing under our feet as we walk carefully on wood planks above. They cascade gracefully off terraced lakes. Every step we take brings us closer and closer to discovering another. 

The park is home to numerous animals and plants who coexist happily with the rushing river currents and brilliant waterfalls. Fish swim gleefully in schools under the clear waters, ducks, deer, and the brown bears live above. Trees with bright green leaves wave in the wind many meters above our heads, and pretty, colorful flowers grab our attention as we trek by. 

Time passes quicker in the park, and soon the day is nearly over. I glance back at the amazing blue waters, the terraced lakes, and powerful waterfalls one more time before hopping on the shuttle to take us back to the entrance of the park. 

Izabel Antle is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program. She's traveling the world with her family - follow her adventures at https://wheremycarryontakesme.wordpress.com/

All photos courtesy and copyright Izabel Antle