I had a previous post a few months back about India on a RTW, though since that plan was scrapped myself and my girlfriend are going volunteering in May and June of next year with some travel time on each side of it.

My volunteer destination would be a couple hundred km's NE of Delhi- getting into the Himalayas. Now realizing the monsoon starts about june-ish, how bad will the weather be (rainwise??) I was reading a travel book on the area, but it mentioned that the trekking was to be done in this season.. in the rain??
What areas in somewhat close proximity Delhi would be good for a weeks travel in late april (i know its a steamer!) and early july.. thanks for everyone's imput!

I was in Delhi/Agra about a month ago, and it was quite dry. Of course, the monsoons had come, but it hadn't yet brought the rain. So, though it was hot and humid, flooding was not an issue, at least by early July of this year. Beware though, it doesn't take much more than a heavy 30 minute rainfall to flood the streets in a number of towns in the low-lying areas around Delhi.

May is really hot in most parts of Northern India with exception to some hill stations.

Delhi would be in the 100s. Use the link below to identify the cities/towns and see the historical avgs.

http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/c...p3?c=IN&refer=

Defining close proximity in India is difficult at times, but for what it's worth I would spend some time in Rajastan in late April. When you're north of Delhi, the hill stations such as Manali are real nice, as is Dharamsala, location of the Tibetian "gov't in exile". Lonely Planet does a great guide book to India - well worth it just for the history and layout of treks and guest houses.

April isn't really monsoon season yet in the north, so Rajasthan would definitely be recommended. We went last year in early July right before monsoon season started in earnest (it was late last year) and nearly melted in the heat. 2 degrees hotter and I'm sure my hair would have spontaneously combusted. But then again -- who goes to Jaisalmer in July?

The hill stations are very pleasant before the monsoons -- it gets a little rainy when the monsoons come. Shimla was great, as was Manali (the wild Mary Jane growing in the mountains was interesting...). Transportation around Himachal Pradesh can be iffy during the rains. Most of the towns are a rather significant bus ride, and the mountain roads can often be subjected to mudslides. The one freakiest experience we had in India was taking the night bus from Manali to Dharamsala. At one point, a landslide had covered part of a narrow mountain road, so we backed up and then CHARGED through the mud and uprooted trees. I think I found religion that night.