With the abundance of beaches, deserts, and jungles in Mexico, dirt racing is the perfect type of racing to expand upon in Forza Horizon 5, and with a name like Horizon Wilds, it seems that it will not disappoint.
While Horizon Baja has you going over dunes and volcanos, Horizon Wilds takes you to remote locales by passing through both tarmac and dirt, making for great rally stages that twist through the highest peaks and the lowest areas of Mexico.
In this guide, we will be looking at how you can unlock the Forza Horizon 5 Dirt Racing Festival, how to complete all the optional objectives in the required expedition to gain the maximum number of accolades from it, and the rewards you get for unlocking Horizon Wilds.
How Do You Unlock Horizon Wilds?
Horizon Wilds can be unlocked by spending an Adventure token on its respective ticket and unlocking the expedition connected to it. In this case, you can unlock Horizon Wilds by going through and completing the Jungle Expedition.
This expedition will appear on your map as an orange icon with foliage on it. It is located near the main festival site (the pink “H” logo). Simply drive towards that location on the map and enter the event.
Part 1: Apex Predator; Starting the Jungle Expedition
The Jungle Expedition is divided into three parts. Throughout the expedition, you will be driving the Jeep Trailcat, basically, a Jeep Wrangler with a Hellcat engine stuck in it for good measure.
As you start the expedition, you and Rami set a course for the jungle and Rami tells you the story of a Forza Horizon 5 big cat that can be found in the jungle. This drive is a bit lengthy, passing by several cities before you get into the entrance of the jungle.
Once you are in the jungle, Rami then continues the story and asks you to find the abandoned airport where he had to make an emergency landing. He also tells you of the items he left behind and him lamenting that he did not even see the big cat when he landed so close to it.
Part 2: Searching the Abandoned Airfield; Doing the Optional Accolades
Upon reaching the abandoned airport, Rami asks you to gather his belongings and hints at where the big cat is as well. That’s where you’ll have to track down a big cat in the Mexican jungle. This story of the cat, of course, pertains to a car. More specifically, a Jaguar barn find.
The objectives are all optional of course, but you would want to do them as you will miss out on character customization items as well as some accolades which help in progressing the festival’s expansion plans.
The optional accolades will only be appearing within the clear section of the map. When you venture to the striped sections of the map, Rami will warn you that you are going out of bounds and that you must return to the search area.
When you get near an accolade, an icon in the shape of an “A” with a star on top will appear on the map. White accolades mean that you have not done the accolade while gold means that you have.
In this particular case, all of Rami’s belongings will be stored in red heavy-duty cases (similar to those used by rock bands to transport items) with the accolade icon spray-painted on them.
1. Discover the Lost Barn Find Notes
This one is very easy to find as it appears right in front of your car once you take control. Just run over the case and Rami will exclaim that he finally knows the whereabouts of the barn find thanks to his notes that you found.
Bonus: The Jaguar Sport XJR-15 Barn Find
This barn find is also within the area so make sure to go a bit out of your way to find it. It can be found outside the dirt roads of the airport, with the barn being located just beside an airplane fuselage.
2. Find Ramiro’s Pilot Outfit
Rami’s pilot outfit can be found on top of some shipping containers in the hangar to the right of where you started. In order to get this, you will need to go up the wings of a plane and through the hangar’s walls.
Approach this at a low speed and you will find yourself on top of some shipping containers. From here, you can reverse and position yourself and try to get a run-up on the crate which will be on the left.
Go as fast as you can and turn a sharp left in order to hit the crate. If you mess up, you can always rewind to attempt the jump again.
Upon collecting this, Rami says that you can keep it. This unlocks Ramiro’s Flight jacket, a customization item for your character.
3. Find Ramiro’s Flight Recorder
The flight recorder can also be seen from where you get the lost barn find notes. This can be seen on the edge of the plane’s wings across the runway. Simply drive up the wing, hit the crate, and jump off to claim this accolade.
Claiming this accolade unlocks the custom horn “Take Off” which mimics the sound of an airplane taking off.
4. Discover Ramiro’s Rainy Day Fund
This is similar to getting Rami’s pilot outfit but a bit more straightforward. Simply drive up the ramp at speed but make sure to aim at the shipping container on top of the ramp so you come to a stop on top of the containers. From there, you can adjust your car and steer to the left to jump on the shipping container where this crate is placed.
Collecting this reveals that Rami has 100,000 credits stashed away just for an emergency. He also says that you can keep it, making you 100,000 credits richer for minimal effort. He also tells you that he got this during his street racing days, hinting at his involvement with the street scene.
5. Find Ramiro’s Pilot Helmet
The final optional objective of this expedition, Rami’s pilot helmet can be found in a crate on top of a stack of shipping containers. Luckily for you, there is a ramp aimed right at it. You will need to be going at a speed of around 70 MPH in order to clear the containers and hit the crate on top of them.
Collecting this accolade unlocked another character customization item: Ramiro’s Flight Helmet. Now you can fully dress up as a pilot!
Once you are done doing the optional objectives, you can now head over to the end of the runway and continue to the final part of this expedition.
Part 3: Sight-seeing; Finishing the Jungle Expedition
Once you drop off Rami, the both of you will be racing through the jungle, toward the Horizon Wilds site. Rami will be driving the #25 ‘Brocky’ Ultra4 Bronco RTR, the perfect companion to your crazy Jeep Trailcat.
The first section will be the both of you racing towards the jungle’s river. Once the both of you reach the river, you will continue to drive up the river. Do not be afraid to drive on the river itself, your car can take it.
Next, Rami asks if you want to visit some friends who can be found in the jungle. Turns out that he was pertaining to Uxmal, an old civilization that existed thousands of years ago. Simply drive through the ancient village as a detour and do not forget to admire the view.
After the detour, you will need to drive on some more dirt roads which lead under the bridge. Rami exclaims that these roads were roads he and his friends used to take when racing buggies when they were children.
Once you reach the bridge, you will find yourself back on the river. This river leads to Cascadas de Agua Azul, the location for Horizon Wilds. Simply drive up the river and you will find yourself at the site in no time.
Rewards for Unlocking the Dirt Racing Festival
Finishing the Jungle Expedition rewards you with the Peugeot 207 Super 2000 (an absolute beast and a proper rally car), Ramiro’s Flight Suit, Ramiro’s Flight Helmet, the “Take Off” horn, 100,000 credits, more accolade points, and XP. And if you were diligent enough, you would also walk away from this mission with the Jaguar Sport XJR-15 barn find.
You also unlock the Horizon Wilds outpost which is located deep in the jungle with Cascadas de Agua Azul serving as its backdrop. This outpost appears as an orange “H” logo on the map.
You also unlock all the dirt races (except for one) which appear as orange icons with a “loose rocks” road sign on them. These races are either rally-cross, which has you passing by dirt roads and tarmac on the same track, or pure dirt races which take part in the numerous dirt paths the map has to offer.
Compared to cross-country racing, these require more agile cars that thrive in fast corners and have a knack for accelerating hard because of the switchbacks found in the tracks. You will also want to tune your cars accordingly if you do race on a track with tarmac, as pure rally builds will suffer in these sections.
Final Thoughts
Apart from being the expedition with the most rewards to give, this expedition also showcases the different terrains and dirt roads the map has to offer.
While the mission itself is rather lengthy, getting to know more of the history of Mexico and Rami’s family is always a treat as it gives the location so much character. Overall, off-road racing will definitely be at its best with Mexico’s offerings!
