The landscape and far away shots are more iconic, but you can absolutely get closer and see the ruins. They were forcing one-way traffic for tourists within the

The landscape and far away shots are more iconic, but you can absolutely get closer and see the ruins. They were forcing one-way traffic for tourists within the ruins and there are some restricted areas when I was there last year. If you do decide to go, you should consider the Inca Trail, which (historically) has sold out ~6mo in advance as the govt limits # of people on the trail. We were among the first people to enter the ruins in the early AM and we had the place to ourselves briefly. The place was overrun with tourists within an hour and it was quite jarring after being able to enjoy the peace and beauty of the mountains for a few days. The journey to get to Machu Picchu was better than just visting the ruins alone, imo.