About 1stepoutside
One step, and the world looks different.
We chose the name on purpose. In life, the biggest changes start with a single step. 1stepoutside is not just trips — it's a community of travelers who care how they move through a place.
1
Who we are
It started as a weekend habit.
In 2019, Doniyor came back to Samarkand after finishing his degree at Westminster. He had no business plan and no spreadsheet — only a growing irritation that the most beautiful corners of Uzbekistan were being sold either as cheap minibus tours or as five-star packages that kept guests at arm's length from the country. Neither matched the place he grew up in.
So he started small. A car, a tent, friends from university, weekends in the mountains above Tashkent. The first "trips" were just invitations on Instagram: we're going to Aydarkul, bring a sleeping bag, it's free. A camera came along. So did a cook. Then a guide who knew where the herders moved in summer. Within a year the weekend invitations had become a waiting list.
We turned it into a company in 2022 — kept the small groups, kept the fire-cooked dinners, kept the rule that every guide had to be born within two hours' drive of the route they were leading. What changed was the logistics. Better tents. Vetted drivers. Real insurance. A proper kitchen behind every camping menu.
"Luxury isn't a marble lobby. It's knowing the chef bought the lamb from the family that raised it, and the guide has been walking this ridge since he was nine."
Today we host travellers from forty-plus countries on the same trails we used to walk with friends on weekends. The groups are still small. The fires still get lit at dusk. We've added Bukhara, Khiva, the Aral basin, the Fann mountains across the border in Tajikistan — but the working rule is unchanged: no trip leaves the studio unless one of us would happily be on it ourselves.
We're not the cheapest operator in the country and we don't try to be. What we offer is a way of moving through Uzbekistan that respects both the traveller's time and the people who live where the traveller is passing through. That balance is the whole project.
On the road
Frames from a year of trips — sunrise on the Fann ridges, a kitchen in a Bukhara courtyard, a yurt-stop in Aydarkul, the long road west to Khiva.
2
Our intention
Every journey begins with intention.
Our mission is to open up the most beautiful, still-undiscovered corners of Uzbekistan — with the quality and the modern approach they deserve. Each trip is a piece of careful logistics, comfort, and an aesthetically rich experience. Through this project we're gathering active people who value craft and seek out new things.
01
Intention first
Every trip begins with a reason — not a checklist. We design routes that mean something, not ones that simply fill a weekend.
02
Craft over volume
Small groups. Considered logistics. Food, gear and stays we'd choose ourselves. Quality is not an upgrade — it's the baseline.
03
A community, not a clientele
We bring together people who notice things. Travelers who want to discover, not just visit. Everyone has a place at the fire.
3
What we guide
Sixteen ways to step outside.
From a quiet morning on a mountain lake to a mystery tour where you find out the destination on arrival — these are the experiences we run, year-round, across Uzbekistan.
- 01Hiking & trekking
- 02Camping under the stars
- 03Lake & river days
- 04SUP, kayak & rafting
- 05Horseback riding
- 06Historical tours — Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva
- 07Lake & spa day trips
- 08Stargazing & night tours
- 09Content-creator expeditions
- 10Picnic days in open country
- 11Mystery tours — destination on arrival
- 12Movie nights in nature
- 13Sport days for luxury athletes
- 14Book & nature gatherings
- 15Paint & picnic afternoons
- 16Private community tours
4
How we travel
Travel that gives back more than it takes.
Luxury, for us, is not gold leaf in the lobby. It is the certainty that the people who made your trip possible were treated well, paid fairly, and given space to be themselves. Four principles, applied every day.
01
Local guides, fair wages
Every guide we work with grew up in the region they show you. Paid above-market, year-round, with equipment and insurance covered by us.
02
Small groups, light footprint
Most expeditions cap at eight to twelve travellers. Less pressure on trails and villages — and a real conversation around the fire at night.
03
Local sourcing, no extraction
Family guesthouses over chains, home kitchens over hotel buffets, drivers from the towns we pass through. The money stays where the trip happens.
04
Heritage, not spectacle
We work with craftsmen, ceramicists and musicians on their terms. No staged folklore, no paying for photos — the encounters are real.
- Travellers hosted
- 0+
- Local guides employed
- 0
- Communities supported
- 0
- Uzbek-born guides
- 0%
"If a place is worth visiting, it is worth leaving better than you found it."
5
The team
The people behind every step.
Founded and led by Doniyor — every member runs trips on the ground. There is no back office hiding behind the brand. The faces below are the ones who plan your route, cook your dinner and walk it with you. Tap a card to read more.
Founder & Brand Manager
Doniyor Abdurakhmonov
@doneekhWestminster graduate. Started 1stepoutside from weekend trips with friends and now leads the brand, direction and community. For him travel is experience, not content.
Chief Adventure Officer
Amir Safarov
@khugo.13The engine on the ground. Senior guide, trip architect and partnerships lead — owns the full guest experience from first ridge to final fire.
Chief Operations Officer
Muxtasar Akhmadxonova
@muxtasarlKeeps the whole studio moving. Finance, week-to-week management, event coordination and quality control — the operational backbone of 1stepoutside.
Content Director
Madina Tursunboyeva
@_mad1naas_The voice of 1stepoutside online. Travels every Sunday trip, returns with seven Reels and a week of stories — keeps the community awake and growing.
Head Chef
Sardor Hamzayev
@muhammadsharif___1Treats trail food as part of the trip, not a side detail. Plans menus, preps sauces in advance and plates dinners in the field with the warmth of a real kitchen.
Ambassador & Face of the Brand
Shirin Matkurbanova
@matkhurbanovaThe face of every campaign — represents the spirit of 1stepoutside in front of the lens and out in the field.
Take the step
Come walk a little of this road with us.
Tell us where you'd like to go — or let us suggest a route. We'll plan, host and guide the rest.