The present invention has a configuration that an observing portion (3) observing an area to be examined and first and second illumination portions (4A, 4B) performing irradiation of illumination light are disposed on a distal end face (2a1) of an insertion portion (1) to be inserted into the area to be examined, and a first lens (18b1) which is a distal end observation lens of an observation window (7) of the observation portion (3) is disposed at a position projecting to a distal end side beyond the distal end face (2a1). With the abovementioned configuration, an endoscope provided with an observation optical system of an object contact type performing contact observation to a live body where a sharp observation image can be obtained is provided.
