The Himalayan socio-ecological landscapes provide valuable ecosystem services that are recognized and prioritised by the local communities. These services are linked to diverse community values. However, the values associated with them have never been quantified from the community perspectives in the Eastern Himalaya. This study aims to examine the socio-cultural and economic values attributed to various ecosystem services prioritized by the local community in the Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya. The study was conducted in 31 villages across agriculture-based and tea plantation landscapes of Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalaya, covering an elevation gradient of 700–2300 m. Qualitative data on ecosystem services were collected by focus group discussion (n = 7) and key informant interviews (n = 37), while quantitative data was collected by survey-based stated preference method (n = 681). The study evaluated the local community’s willingness to pay for improvements in selected ecosystem services through a choice experiment, and in the process was able to uncover community priorities associated with them. Labour contribution was a payment option offered to the respondents. Residents of agriculture-based landscapes exhibited a higher willingness to pay ($53 person−1 year−1) as compared to the tea plantation population ($22 person−1 year−1). Freshwater regulation was prioritised over other services (> 50% of total economic value), highlighting its perceived importance for rural wellbeing. Contrarily, the cultural landscape was valued the least (< 12%), suggesting community satisfaction with the current state of the landscape. The findings contribute to understanding the community-perceived values, crucial for designing effective environmental policies, particularly in the multifunctional socioecological landscapes of the Eastern Himalaya.