Photographer Yogesh Kardile's website amazingsahyadri.com hopes to keep alive the Sahyadris with its one lakh-strong photo gallery, eco-friendly tours, documentaries and voluntary work in the region

For centuries, the Sahyadris have sent conquerors, nature lovers and trekkers into a tizzy, with its vertigo-inducing peaks, rugged topography, lush ghats, local culture and dialects that vary every few miles. But this region is also one of the world's most endangered hotspots thanks to rampant commercialisation, waste left behind by tourists and apathy by the authorities. A website called amazingsahyadri.com has stepped in to preserve the area and empower its locals.

Masayi Pathar in Kolhapur is home to these stunning natural stone art formations created millions of years ago. It is similar to England's Stonehenge site but were formed naturally as a result of weathering and heavy rain.

This novel idea was the brainchild of Pune-based ex-fashion photographer Yogesh Kardile, who folded up his studio and relocated to Bhandardara in 2007. "Fashion photography was by chance but the call of the wild was stronger. I wanted to contribute towards the local population, so I set up amazingsahyadri.com (in 2007) to document life in the Sahyadris, which is in a perpetual state of flux and extinction," explains Kardile.

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This photographer's love affair with the Western Ghats started a decade ago when he would bunk college lectures for treks. By then, Shivaji's fortsu00a0 had caught his fancy. "I worked as a security guard to afford the Rs 750 needed to buy my first camera. Since then, I've been clicking photos of rare plants, endangered animals, tribal culture and amazing landscapes," he says.

Today, his database boasts of over one lakh photographs of the Sahyadris. The site is divided into 21 categories including wildlife, birds, butterflies, insects, plants, beaches, rocks, forts, children, farm life, celebration and adventure.

He rues the fact that people are unaware of the region's unbelievable diversity. "There are unknown martial arts, rare tiger sightings, giant squirrels, leopards, pythons and wild boars as well as plants like the purple-coloured Karvi, which blossoms after seven years and dies immediately after that."

The job comes with its risks. "I narrowly escaped being devoured by tigers while I tried to capture them on camera. Leeches are also a menace; they suck your blood. You don't even realise it as it is painless," he adds.