Rishikesh / Haridwar in December

Hi, I'm thinking of travelling to Rishiskesh / Haridwar in December but everything I read says that the best time to go is between March and November and that the winter is freezing. Is it really that cold in December??? Last year we did Amritsar and Chandigarh which are just a bit to the west so I had assumed it would be much the same sort of temperature & weather conditions - which felt just like a good summer at home, in the North of England! My other option had been Varanasi and Sarnath but my husband is not keen because of the hassle / touts etc in Varansai so this seemed like a good alternative. As we'll be coming North after 2 weeks of South Indian heat we don't want to have to pack for 2 different holidays if we can help it

Coming from England, I don't think you need to worry about the cold in Haridwar. Its like much of the north Indian plains; not unlike Amritsar.

Haridwar gets pretty cold in the evenings/night due to the wind flowing over the Ganges and same with Rishikesh.

In day time it will be like Amritsar only.......

And I think you shouldn't miss Varanasi & Sarnath due to this touts thing.....just don't talk to them and they'll go away......

Thanks a lot, it sounds much like last year's weather then, which is good. I would really love to go to Varanasi, Sarnath and to Bodgaya too but my husband is a bit of a wimp - he's heard too many bad things about Varanasi and about the dangers of travelling in Bihar. Anyone else been to Bodgaya and how was it? I'd love to go, I'll just have to leave him at home.