The meaning of the word Cusco comes from the Quechua word qosqo which means navel, it has quite a few meanings, one of the most important is "Center or navel of the world". It is the old capital of the Incan empire, which at some time stretched from Equador all the way down to morthern Chile.
Cusco is located at about 3300m ( 11000ft), which can be a problem when a person has been at sea level for several weeks.