The traditional, mountainous village of Tseria is built at the foothills of Taygetos, amidst pine trees. The village is 12 kilometres from Kardamyli and 36 kilometres from Kalamata.
It consists of six settlements: Ano Tseria, Giatreika, Zacharias (former Limbohova), Katafygio (former Kopsolaimeika), Pedino (former Kotsimareika) and Leftini. These settlements began to be created at the end of the 17th century by residents of the Androuvista area, and they were all built at an altitude of 600-750 metres. They are rightly called the "balcony of Mani" because of their panoramic views. The settlements are built in a circular arrangement to control access to the area.
Although the Slavic word "Ceria" means "neighbourhoods", many argue that the name of the village comes from the many cheria (acorns) or tseratsia (horns) that exist in the area. Tseria appears in the travel book of Turk Evlia Celebi in 1670, while poet Nikitas Nifakos writes about the villages of the region:
"Tzeria and Kalyves, Xechori, Skardamoula,
Proasteion and Liasinova and Saidona, all of them.
These and Androuvista and all the birds
In the lap are located of far away Ilias...".
The oldest of the settlements is Leftini which appeared for the first time in 1480 as Castello Lestini and Casale Leftini. Also, the restored Koukeas’ tower in Zacharias (Limbohova) is where captain Zacharias Barbitsiotis, Koukeas’ best man, was murdered.
The oldest houses in Tseria date from after 1800 and are famous stone craftsmen’s authentic monuments of art. Even today, in nearby places, the points of extraction of the stone and tikla, which were used for the roofs of the houses, can be seen.
To the east of Tseria is the gorge of Vyros (about 20 kilometres long), which reaches as far as Kardamyli and is one of the largest and most impressive gorges in Greece.
In the centre of the village, visitors can see the temple of Taxiarches, built in 1836 by someone called Mitrodimitrakis and has an octagonal dome. Other notable churches are Panagia Evangelistria (Pedino), Agios Petros (Katafygi), Ai George (Leftini), Ai Nikolas, Panagia and Esodia (Zacharias), as well as various single-chambered churches on the broader area, such as the one of Agia Madrona.
