The present invention relates to an image display apparatus in which an image from a single image display device is led to two eyes without using a half-mirror, thereby allowing observation of a bright image and facilitating correction of various aberrations. A viewing optical system includes a left ocular part 10L, a right ocular part 10R, and an optical path distributing part 20 for leading a light beam from a single image display device 3 to the left and right ocular parts 10L and 10R. The left and right ocular parts each have at least two reflecting surfaces 12R(L) and 13R(L). The planes of decentered optical paths of the axial principal rays in the left and right ocular parts are arranged to be approximately parallel to each other. The optical path distributing part 20 has optical surfaces 21L to 24L, 21R to 24R and 25 arranged in bilaterally rotational symmetry to form left and right optical paths that are not in plane symmetry with each other but in 180-degree rotational symmetry with respect to only a normal line passing through the center of the image display device 3. The optical path distributing part has at least two pairs of reflecting surfaces 22L(R) to 24L(R) as the optical surfaces for the left and right optical paths.