Detours are unplanned, often prolonged or circuitous routes that actors traverse in the course of global processes. They coincide with delays, waiting, and stagnation, making mobility uneven and unpredictable. Migration provides a clear example: journeys are rarely linear and often include obstacles, backtracking, or extended waiting periods. While large-scale migration is usually depicted as arrows from origin to destination, individual routes reveal temporal and spatial complexities, showing how detours shape experiences and historical outcomes. Detours also open unexpected encounters, new insights, and shifts in trajectories, demonstrating how non-linear movement is integral to understanding global processes and their human consequences.