The problem with the internet is there are too many dubious sources. Is this true?
Atacama: "...in some mid-deserts spots, rain has never been recorded, at least as long as humans have measured it.
Not even cacti grow there. The air is so dry that metal objects never oxidize and the meat left for long on open air preserves for unlimited time. Without moisture nothing rots.
It is so arid, that mountains that reach as high as 6,885 metres (22,590 feet) lack glaciers and...have possibly been glacier-free throughout the Ice Age. Travellers relate that during summer the drought is so severe that hair and beard crumble and fall and the nails chap."
From here:
http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-Driest-Place-on-Earth-Atacama-Desert-55456.shtml
Then there is this about Antarctica: "The driest place on Earth is in Antarctica in an area called the Dry Valleys, which have seen no rain for nearly 2 million years. There is absolutely no precipitation in this region and it makes up a 4800 square kilometer region of almost no water, ice or snow...The reason why this region receives no rain is due to Katabatic winds, winds from the mountains that are so heavy with moisture that gravity pulls them down and away from the Valleys.
One feature of note is Lake Bonney, a saline lake situated in the Dry Valleys. It is permanently covered with 3 to 5 meters of ice. Scientists have found mummified bodies of seals around the lake."