Among these, the Alishan Mountain Railway is ranked with rail lines in the Indian Himalayas and the Peruvian Andes as one of the world's three great mountain railways, and it attracts railroad buffs from around the world. As the steam engine pulls the train up the mountain, it passes through a succession of different climatic zones.
特別是名列全世界三大登山鐵路之一的阿里山鐵道，更吸引眾多國際鐵道迷不辭千里搭機前來，也要乘坐蒸汽火車一路攀登，飽覽不同氣候帶的豐富林相。阿里山鐵道與印度攀登喜馬拉雅山的大吉嶺鐵道、秘魯穿越安地斯山的中央鐵路，並稱世界三大登山鐵路。