Land use and land cover (LULC) change detection is the process of monitoring and assessing changes in the way land is used, as well as types of flora or structures that cover the Earth’s surface throughout time. This study compares various periods to find changes in land use patterns and land cover types. This study maps and monitors land use and land cover changes over Shimla, Dharamshala, and Solan urban agglomerations falling in Himachal Pradesh, India, between 1991 and 2023. Using a fusion of multi-temporal Landsat data with landscape metrics, the study analyzes the spatial morphology and dynamics of urban growth in the mentioned areas. Considerable urban development was noted, especially in Shimla and Dharamshala, motivated by factors such as population increase, tourism, and modification in agricultural methods. The research utilized remote sensing methods along with Geographic Information Systems to classify and assess land use and land cover changes, employing metrics such as Class Area, Patch Density, and Largest Patch Index to measure the two integral features of urban sprawl and landscape fragmentation. This, in turn, implies that a large land conversion from vegetated and open areas to built-up ones is experienced with concentrated growth in the urban core. This study highlights that socio-economic factors outweigh physical geography in bringing about high-altitude area urban growth and encourages sustainable urban planning accordingly. The application of landscape metrics gives a quantitative understanding of urban growth, which is necessary for formulating effective land management and environmental policies in rapidly urbanizing regions such as Himachal Pradesh.