Three colours could sum up the historic national park (8 000ha) that protects Trakai and its peninsula: the green of the forests, the blue of its 32 lakes and the red of the bricks used to build its magnificent Island Castle. Established in 1991, the park aims to safeguard the region's natural, historical and ethnocultural riches for Trakai is the Lithuanian home of the Karaites. The park has also become a favourite spot for the inhabitants of Vilnius to relax.