5 weeks North India Oct/Nov 2010 itinerary advice

Hi guys,

I'm currently planning a 5ish week trip to India starting in October 2010. I've been scouring the site for advice and I find it very helpful. I would really appreciate some advice tailored towards my plans. I'm gonna be flying out of Dublin around October 15, probably to Delhi and then flying home around 5 weeks later. I want to stick to the North so I'm not overstretching myself too much.

here's a lil bit about me I'm a 24 year old guy from Ireland with an open mind and a desire to go with the flow while traveling but would like a bit of structure on my plans. I'm not too fond of overcrowded cities and like spending time in the outdoors and trekking followed by some beer at the end of the day! While not Buddhist I'm very interested in Buddhism so that's going to shape my plans somewhat.

My rough plan is as follows

15th October Arrive Delhi
10 days or so in Himachal Pradesh, visiting Shimla, Mcleodganj, Manali. I plan on doing some moderate trekking from one of these places. Is it worth heading up to Ladakh at this time of the year (late October?) or will the weather be prohibitive?

10 days or so for Golden Triangle and Rajasthan, including Not sure exactly where I'll head to but I've read the camel festival in Pushkar is worth experiencing and I'll be arriving at the start of November. Would anyone suggest seeing it? As I mentioned I'm not too fond of spending much time in huge cities so I can't see myself spending too much time in the major cities in Rajasthan. Are there more remote, scenic places that would be good to relax in?

So I've another 2 weeks or so to play with. I'm at a loss to decide where to go next. I'm tempted to head down South to chill out on the beaches in Goa for a while but I think I'd get bored of that quite quickly. I'm also tempted to head to Darjeeling via Varanasi and maybe get back up into the hills but having already been to HP I'm not sure if I'll have an urge to get back up into the Himalayas.

So would people recommend heading down south for the remainder of the trip, heading towards Darjeeling or slowing down and spreading out my above plans?

It's all very vague I know! But hopefully there are people who have been in my situation before and can offer some guidance!!

Thanks a lot.

I'd skip Leh if I was you, too late & too cold plus the pass from Manali will probably be closed.
For HP you could go Delhi-Kalka by train then switch to toy train to Shimla. From Shimla bus to Mandi/Rewalsar Lake(Buddhist)from Mandi to Bir (Buddhist) then on to Mcleod/D'sala then Amritsar (Golden Temple)Delhi.
See this; Buddhist Monastery - Ashram Stay Help

Another option is to visit some places in Madhya Pradesh en route to Varanasi.
There is a lot of information in the forum about
-Mandu
-Orchha
-Khajuraho
-A really quit place is Chanderi

Have a nice trip.

Thank you very much for your suggestions. I'm going to research them and hopefully work them into my plans.

You could also visit a forest reserve (Ranthambore / Corbett).