Ask someone where the driest place on Earth is, and they will likely answer “The Sahara Desert” or “Death Valley in California.” Some may even make the case for the South Pole because there is no liquid water there—everything is frozen.

While Antarctica is scientifically the driest place on Earth, the driest non-polar desert actually lies in the country closest to it, Chile (pronounced chee-lay).

Chile’s Atacama Desert sits at an elevation of 7,500 feet and some of its areas have never had a single drop of rain. This is because it rests between two mountain chains, the Andes and the Chilean Coast Range, which are high enough to block out moisture from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans respectively.

The desert’s completely windswept, rocky, plant-free landscape and cloudless skies are so similar to the surface of Mars that it has been used by NASA to test for future Mars missions and by filmmakers for Mars scenes, including in BBC’s fictional space travel documentary Space Odyssey: Voyage to the Planets.

The Atacama is just one of Chile’s otherworldly features. Easter Island, famous for its larger-than-life moai statues depicting human faces, is also Chilean territory. The monuments are eerie leftovers from a thriving Polynesian culture that once lived on the island, since decimated by overpopulation and thus dwindling natural resources.

But the South American nation is far from lifeless and barren. In fact, because of its very thin geography (2,600 miles north to south but only 217 miles east to west at its widest point), it features a large variety of flora and fauna. Llamas and alpacas graze in the high elevations of the Andes in the north, while flocks of sheep chase king penguins on the southernmost tundra islands.

The origin of the nation’s name is unclear, but one theory is that it comes from an indigenous Machupe word that can mean “where the land ends” or “the deepest point on Earth.” Fitting, given the country’s proximity to Antarctica.

The land was originally inhabited by the native Incas, who were able to live in high altitudes by practicing terraced farming. To cope with harsh conditions, they developed resilient breeds of crops such as potatoes, quinoa and corn.

The Spanish Conquistadors came to the region after Ferdinand Magellan, who attempted to circumnavigate the globe, sailed through a southern passage now named after him—the Strait of Magellan—in 1520.

Over the centuries, Chileans gained independence from Spain and other Europeans immigrated there. As a result, Chile’s 17.5 million people comprises a mix of ethnicities, with the majority being whites of European descent and a significant minority being Spanish-native mestizos. Chilean cuisine reflects this mix, as it can include traditional recipes such as empanadas to German foods like sauerkraut and schnitzel.

In contrast to most other Latin American nations, such as Venezuela and Brazil, Chile has a stable government and a prosperous economy. It has the highest GDP per capita in Latin America. As an emblem of the nation’s prosperity, the capital city Santiago, home to 4.5 million people, features the 1,000-foot tall Gran Torre—the tallest building in Latin America.