Since 2019 · Uzbekistan
We didn't start a company. We just kept taking friends outside.
1stepoutside is a small crew of friends from Uzbekistan who guide mountain and Silk Road trips the way we'd plan them for our own family — small groups, local homes, real food, and no rush.
Who we are
One van became a way of life.
In 2019, Doniyor came back to Samarkand after a few years abroad and started taking his friends' visiting friends into the mountains he grew up in. No logo, no website — just a borrowed van, a thermos of tea, and the back roads he knew by heart.
The first trips were small. His friends' friends came, then friends of theirs. Every single group went home saying the same thing — and it was never about the monuments. It was the bread baked at sunrise, the family who pulled them in for plov, the silence on the pass at dawn.
People don't come here for the sights. They come because of how this place makes them feel — and we design every trip around that feeling.
Doniyor, founder
People flew in from Seoul, Berlin, Toronto — and left talking about people, not places.
That changed how we built everything.
Today we are a team of guides, drivers, cooks, and friends who plan every departure like we're taking our own family. Because by the last night, that's usually what it's become.
We stay small on purpose. Every trip is still planned by the person who will walk it with you.
The field, 2019 — today
Every photo here was taken by someone on the team, on a real trip. Nothing staged, nothing stock.
Our intention
Come as guests, leave as friends.
Uzbekistan's real treasure isn't on a postcard — it's how strangers are treated here. Our job is to put you inside that, not in front of it. Every route, home, and meal is chosen so the country can do what it does best: turn visitors into friends.
Homes, not hotels
You sleep where our friends and family sleep — village homes, yurts, and family-run guesthouses — whenever the route allows it.
Small, always
Groups stay small enough to fit around one dasturxon. If we can't all share one table, the group is too big.
Local hands
Guides, drivers, cooks, and hosts are all from the regions we travel. Your money stays in the valleys you walk through.
Honest pacing
We plan for dawn light, long lunches, and unplanned tea. A trip that needs rushing is a trip planned wrong.
What we guide
Sixteen ways to step outside.
One-day hikes to eight-day Silk Road journeys, all led by our own guides — never outsourced, never resold.
- — Chimgan & Charvak Day Hike
- — Sunset over Registan, Samarkand
- — Aral Sea Ship Graveyard Expedition
- — Khiva's Old City at Dawn
- — Silk Road Cities Grand Tour
- — The Great Silk Road Journey
- — Fann Mountains Lakes Trek
- — Nuratau Homestay Weekend
- — Bukhara's Living Old Town
- — Amirsoy Ski & Snow Day
- — Zaamin Juniper Forest Retreat
- — Aydarkul Yurt Camp & Desert Night
- — Boysun: Uzbekistan's Last Frontier
- — Beldersay–Chimgan Ridge Traverse
- — Pulatkhan Plateau & Big Chimgan Summit
- — Sentyab Village Cooking Masterclass
How we travel
Leave every place a little better.
The mountains and cities we travel through are our home. These aren't marketing lines — they're the rules every trip runs on.
No trace
We carry out everything we carry in, and we pick up what others left. Every guide carries an extra bag for exactly this.
Real exchanges
Hosts are partners, not suppliers. Families set their own prices and we never negotiate them down.
Quiet groups
Small groups move gently — through villages, mosques, and trails. We visit places; we don't overrun them.
Give back
A share of every trip funds trail clean-ups and school supplies in the mountain villages that host us.
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Happy travelers
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Routes we guide
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Average group size
“Take only photographs. Leave only footprints. Bring home friends.”
The team
The people behind it.
No back office hiding behind the brand — the faces below plan your route, cook your dinner, and walk it with you.
Founder
Doniyor
@doniyorBorn in Samarkand. Started this to show people the country he grew up in.
Chief Adventure Officer
Amir
@amirKnows every trail here — including the ones that aren't on any map.
Operations
Muxtasar
@muxtasarThe reason your trip runs without you ever noticing the work.
Content
Madina
@madinaBehind every photo and film you'll take home.
Head Chef
Sardor
@sardorThree courses, four hours from the nearest road — and he makes it look easy.
Ambassador
Shaxrizoda
@shaxrizodaFirst to greet you, last to wave you off.
The invitation
Come as a guest. Leave as a friend.
Pick a trip, write to us, or just come drink tea. The kettle is always on.