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Rohtang Pass Maggi Seller Reportedly Earns ₹15,000 a Day in the Off-Season — Here's the Maths Behind the Viral Video

Trending Now • 2 November 2026 • 4 min read

Chandra Dhaba, a roadside eatery at Batal near Kunzum Pass in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, with mountains behind it

Photo: Chandra Dhaba at Batal, Himachal Pradesh — Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

TL;DR — the direct answer: A roadside Maggi seller at Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh reportedly makes about ₹14,000 to ₹15,000 a day in sales, even in the off-season, by selling roughly 60 to 70 plates of Maggi and nearly 200 cups of tea a day. That figure is daily turnover, not profit — the cost of ingredients, fuel, rent and labour still comes out of it — but it is the number that made a short video of the vendor go viral on 2 November 2026.

What happened: The video, shared by content creator Harsh Chauhan, shows a conversation with a vendor at Rohtang Pass, the high mountain pass in Himachal Pradesh that connects the Kullu Valley with Lahaul and Spiti. In the clip, the vendor breaks down an ordinary day: dozens of plates of Maggi, a staple of Indian mountain-road food, plus cup after cup of tea for travellers stopping on the way up or down the pass. Chauhan's on-screen calculation puts a plate of Maggi at ₹100 and a cup of tea at ₹40. At 60 to 70 plates and about 200 cups, the daily takings add up to roughly ₹14,000 to ₹15,000, before counting any eggs or other items the stall also sells. The Economic Times reported the same breakdown on 2 November, and News24 Online carried the story the same morning, describing the clip as a viral video that had stunned viewers.

Why it's trending: The reaction is not really about noodles. It is about the gap between how small the business looks and how large the number sounds. A single roadside stall, with no seating, no branding and no delivery app, appears to take in more in a day than many office workers earn in a week — and it does so, according to the vendor, even when tourist numbers are low. Some viewers call it inspiring proof that small trade can pay; others ask what is left after costs, and how the off-season figure compares with peak summer months. Chauhan framed the clip with a simple message, quoted in the coverage: no business is small.

Background / context: Rohtang Pass sits at about 3,978 metres, and for decades it has been one of Himachal Pradesh's most famous — and most congested — tourist routes. Food stalls along the approach roads have long served the same menu: Maggi, tea, eggs, parathas and momos, cooked fast, eaten standing, and priced for travellers who have just crossed a long, cold stretch of road. The economics are location-specific: footfall is seasonal, the working season is short, and a vendor may earn most of a year's income in a few busy months. The figure does not, on its own, tell us rent, LPG costs at altitude, supply transport, or how many days a month the stall opens when snow or landslides close the road.

What we know / what's unconfirmed: Confirmed, from the reporting of the video: the vendor's own stated volumes (60 to 70 Maggi plates and about 200 teas a day), the prices used in the calculation (₹100 a plate, ₹40 a cup), and the resulting turnover estimate of ₹14,000 to ₹15,000 a day. Not confirmed: the vendor's profit after costs, his exact location on the pass, his working hours, or whether the off-season figure holds on every day or reflects a good day. The story rests on one conversation in one video, not on audited accounts, and this post does not present the turnover figure as profit.

What happens next: Expect more creators to visit mountain stalls and ask the same question. For travellers, the stall's prices are a useful, if rough, guide to roadside food costs on the pass. For anyone thinking about a small food business, the honest lesson is narrower than the headline: turnover is not income, and location and footfall do most of the work.

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Frequently asked questions

Q: How much does the Rohtang Maggi seller earn per day?
A: He reportedly makes about ₹14,000 to ₹15,000 a day in sales (turnover), from roughly 60 to 70 Maggi plates at ₹100 each and nearly 200 cups of tea at ₹40 each. That is sales, not profit after costs.

Q: Who shared the viral video?
A: Content creator Harsh Chauhan shared the conversation with the vendor on Instagram, and the clip was then reported by The Economic Times and News24 Online on 2 November 2026.

Q: Is ₹15,000 a day profit?
A: No — the reported figure is daily turnover. Ingredients, fuel, transport, rent and labour all come out of it, and none of those costs were broken down in the video.

Sources: The Economic Times — trending stories, 2 November 2026 • News24 Online — Maggi seller at Rohtang Pass

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