On the Tashkent metro, the stations are the sights. The system opened in 1977, the first in Central Asia, and the Soviet planners treated each stop as a small palace, with a theme, a colour scheme and local craftsmen to carry it out. Marble, carved alabaster, mosaics and chandeliers decorate the platforms, and the Kosmonavtlar station, the Cosmonauts, is one of the best, with a space theme: blue-grey tiles, circular lamps like planets and portraits of cosmonauts, a tribute to the space programme of which Uzbekistan was proud. For years, photography underground was banned, and the rule has now relaxed, so you can look around with a camera if you are polite.
The metro is also a way to feel the Soviet dream of Tashkent as a modern, socialist city. After the 1966 earthquake, the capital was rebuilt as a showpiece of the Soviet east, with wide avenues, fountains and big public spaces, and the metro was the crowning piece, a clean, cheap, efficient system that ran on time. Today it still carries hundreds of thousands of people a day, and it remains one of the best ways to cross the city.
The ride from here points to the mountains again, to the Chatkal Biosphere Reserve in the western Tien Shan. Take the road along the Chirchik river to Gazalkent, and on into the valleys of the Pskem and Ugam, where the roads become narrower, the air cooler, and the forests of walnut and juniper thicken. The peaks reach well over three thousand metres, and in spring they are streaked with snow. The tarmac is generally decent, with some rough sections, rockfalls and sudden bends, and the valleys can be misty in the morning. Check whether permits are needed near the border with Kyrgyzstan, as some zones are restricted.
Tashkent has fuel and workshops, but petrol supplies can be uneven, so fill up early and carry a little extra. There are small cafes along the road to the mountains serving shashlik and fresh bread, and many people sell apples, apricots or honey by the roadside. Mid-May to June is a fine time for the ride, with green slopes and fresh flowers, and September brings a clear, golden light and the walnut harvest.