Abstract: Mapping and monitoring land use and land cover (LULC) in the Himalayan region are essential for sustainable development planning, ecological assessment and resource management. This study analyses the current (2023) LULC patterns of the Goriganga watershed in the Central Himalayas using field surveys, Google Earth imagery, ALOS PALSAR (12.5 m) elevation data and GIS-based manual classification. The watershed covers 2244 km² and exhibits substantial altitudinal variability (559–7383 m), resulting in distinct ecological and land cover zones. Ten major LULC categories were identified: snow and glacier, barren rocky land, alpine meadows (Bugyals), grassland, forest (dense, moderately dense and scattered), agriculture, built-up land and water bodies. Forests constitute the largest class (34.78%), followed by alpine meadows (27.01%) and snow and glaciers (17.94%). Built-up areas cover only 0.43% of the basin indicating limited human settlement at high elevations. Altitudinal zonation strongly influences spatial distribution, with snow and glacier cover dominating above 4500 m, alpine meadows between 3000–4500 m and agricultural land concentrated below 3000 m. The findings indicate the ecological significance of high-altitude Bugyals and the pronounced vertical stratification of land cover in the Central Himalaya. The updated LULC dataset provides a baseline for future land-use change assessments, environmental monitoring, and sustainable development planning in this climatically sensitive region.