Kosmonavtlar Metro Station

Kosmonavtlar Metro Station is the most photographed station of Tashkent's Soviet-era metro, located on Sharof Rashidov Avenue in the Yakkasaroy District of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on the Uzbekistan line. It opened in 1984 and was dedicated to cosmonauts and the Soviet space programme. The platform hall is decorated with blue-tinted glazed tiles and marble, with round medallions portraying cosmonauts, among them Vladimir Dzhanibekov, born in Uzbekistan, and Valentina Tereshkova, as well as planetary and space-themed motifs. Soft lighting and the cool blue palette give the station a futuristic feel. Tashkent's metro stations are among the most decorative in the former Soviet Union, and Kosmonavtlar is often paired with Alisher Navoi, Pakhtakor and Mustaqillik Maydoni stations on a self-guided tour. A visit takes 20 to 30 minutes, enough to walk the platform, look at the wall panels and ride a stop or two. A single metro journey costs about 2,500 UZS, paid by card or token at the entrance. Photography was long restricted in the metro, but rules have relaxed in recent years; visitors should still avoid photographing security staff and check for posted signs, and use of tripods and flash is discouraged. The quietest times are midday and mid-morning on weekdays, while rush hours from roughly 07:30 to 09:30 and 17:00 to 19:00 are crowded. The station is close to the Museum of Applied Arts, about a 12-minute walk away. The best photo angle is down the centre of the platform for symmetrical perspective, taken between trains.